


A Twist of Fate

by Loopstagirl



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-11
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-03 11:21:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 169,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/380843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loopstagirl/pseuds/Loopstagirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Round Table were notorious for getting the job done. But their latest target turns out to be a bit different from what they were expecting. Not to mention he seems to have a past with their leader.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I have written anything like this, so it would be great to know whether people like it or not.  
> Dislcaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.

The figure leapt from the wall, the dark clothes masking him in the night as he set off down an alleyway at a sprint. Sounds clattered almost clumsily behind him, making him pick up his speed. His gun was in his hand, and aiming somewhat wildly over his shoulder, he fired off three rounds. Two clattered harmlessly, but the third caused a howl of outrage.

The figure swore, speeding up once again. The strong, military boots, whilst may have been supportive on the best of days did not make running any easier.

“Prince to Knight 3, where the hell are you?” One touch to his ear was all it took for the coms to be activated, and the figure found himself hemmed in as he reached the end of the alleyway. Immediately, the thing pursuing skidded to a halt, finding it hard to grip the pavement. It was at least 9foot tall, and most people would simply blink and swear they had been imaging things. It wasn’t every day a mass of stone sprinted past them. But the gargoyle was real enough, and the man tensed, his finger twitching slightly on the trigger.

In comparison, he looked pathetic in comparison. But in front of normal people, he was far from so. A comfortable 6.1, his broad shoulders gave him a muscular build. He was dressed from head to toe in dark combat gear, even a black hat hiding his usually vibrant blond hair. Only his eyes seemed to sparkle in the darkness of the night, an icy blue, penetrating and deadly. His stone opponent however, did not seem to comprehend the significance of that gaze.

Instead, it approached slowly. It was clumsy, hitting the buildings either side on nearly every other step, and its eyes were dull. It knew its prey was there though, and kept advancing. Waiting until he could see the eyes, the man whipped his gun up, releasing another few rounds. This time, they were accurate, hitting the weaker spots in the stone. But the creature kept coming.

“Shit! Knight 3, get your arse here now.” Dropping to the floor, he scrambled between the monster’s legs, backing slowly down the alleyway. He was out of ammunition. Every flicker of common sense was screaming at him to run, to get the hell away from something that shouldn’t technically exist. But his training, his mission, came first. If he ran, he knew he could lose the thing in the blink of an eye; it was what he had been raised to do. But if the creature lost his scent, there would be no telling where it would vanish too. He had to stay in its range, however stupid the plan was suddenly becoming. With quick and deft hands, he slipped the empty clip from the gun, letting it drop carelessly to the floor as the weapon jerked towards his belt. He barely even processed what he was doing as another clip was secured, the man still running as he worked.

He had reached the end of the alleyway now, and he still had received the response he was waiting for. With a groan, he once again darted past the thing, clipping it with another round as he took off back down the same alleyway. Luckily these things were as thick as they were slow, and after a few moments of confused contemplation, it also turned and began to once again block the figure in.

When he reached the end this time, he didn’t run. He had had it! Taking careful aim, he loosed off round after round. Every time, he hit it in the weak spot under its chin, causing pieces of stone to go flying off in small chunks. When the gun simply clicked, empty, the man tensed. The gargoyle regarded him for a moment, before swinging one giant claw. The building to the man’s left didn’t stand a chance as the stone crashed through it, showering the blond with pieces of brick and mortar. He threw himself to one side, arms over his head as he tried to protect himself from the debris. The dust finally cleared, allowing him to look up just in time to roll to the side in order to stop himself being crushed under a stone fist.

“Gwaine!”

“Alright, alright, princess, keep ya hair on.” As the voice finally echoed back through the coms, Arthur frowned in annoyance at Gwaine’s words. But it was more the tone that had him scowling. The coms had sounded slightly tinny, as if the man was nearby. 

BANG!

Arthur was almost thrown backwards by the force of something exploding and once again threw an arm across his eyes, coughing slightly at the dust. Eventually, his airways cleared enough for him to risk lowering his arm. There was only a mass of small rocks on the ground in front of him now, no sign that it had been a creature intent on killing him barely a minute ago. As Arthur’s eyes grew used to the dim and murky light of the now dust covered alleyway, he could see two figures standing at the far end. Scrambling to his feet, he strode towards them. His black clothing was now practically grey from rolling around on the floor, and he knew if it was any of the others who had reported back like this, they would have to face his displeasure. As it was, there was something quite satisfying about being the commander in this unit.

“Alright there, princess?” Arthur rolled his eyes as he brushed past two of his men.

“What have I told you about calling me fucking princess?” He snarled, for a moment too angry to think about where they were and what they were in the middle of. Luckily, the soft tones of the third member of their party cleared his mind of the angry haze it was being sucked into.

“Sir, Knight 1 and 2 still need to report in.” Arthur nodded, his hand drifting to his ear again.

“Knight 1 from Prince. Status report.”

“We’ve got him, sir. Put up a hell of a fight, but we’ve got the bastard.”

“Injuries?”

“Knight 2 sustained a slight burn, but nothing HQ can’t clean up.”

“Understood. Begin move out, we’ll join you when things have been cleared up here.”

“Understood, Prince. Knight 1 out.” Arthur glanced at Gwaine and Elyan, wondering which of them was going to break the silence first. It came as no surprise when Gwaine opened his mouth.

“How the hell did Leon not gloat? This is the toughest one we’ve brought in by far, and he and Lance just take it like a stroll in the park.”

“Not everyone gloats at a job well done.” Already, Arthur could hear sirens in the distance, and with a jerk of his hand, he gave the signal for his men to beginning moving out.

“No,” Gwaine counteracted, shoving his superior slightly, “only you don’t gloat, but that’s because you get to take down the sorcerer every bloody time. How did it feel being on us commoners side?”

“Watch it,” there was no real heat in Arthur’s voice though. He knew who his men were loyal too. “I let you rise through the ranks, Knight 3. I can drop you just as quickly. And what the hell are you carrying?”

“This?” Gwaine shifted until he let his gun catch the dim light flickering from a street lamp. “Bought it off a chap down the market.” At Arthur’s murderous glance, he rolled his eyes. “It’s a proto-type. One of the tech guys wanted me to try it out. Said he’d buy me a drink.”

“You’d do anything for a drink.” Elyan cut in, his voice quiet yet confident. Arthur left them to it, knowing the banter after a particularly hard mission was all that kept them going. Their team of six, plus the general, were the ones who knew about this, and were the only ones that could ever know. There was no point taking away their friendship.

They hadn’t made it very far onto the main road when an ordinary white van came skidding up next to them. The door immediately flung open from the inside, and despite all of his comments, even Gwaine stood back to let Arthur jump in first. Barely five seconds after it had stopped, the van was screeching away into the night again.

“Nice driving, Perce.” Gwaine settled himself in one of the comfortable chairs at the back of the van. Elyan immediately took a seat next to another man, leaning over his shoulder as they monitored the cities cameras, searching for any other signs of hostiles. The laptop subtly shifted from being just on Lancelot’s lap until it was straddling the two of them.

“Sir.”

“Leon.” Arthur acknowledged, moving past the man. At the back of the van, a cage took up the majority of the wall. It was spacious and roomy, but still, Arthur had doubts. Until a hand closed around the bar, shaking it furiously.

“You will die, Pendragon.”

“Do they ever come up with anything different?” Arthur asked casually of no one in particular. Instead, he turned back to the sorcerer, noting with approval the glowing bands not just around his wrists, but ankles as well. Clearly Leon and Lancelot had taken no chance. The bands pulsed anti-magic, and whilst the man had even one on, he couldn’t get a grip on his magic. Arthur turned his attention back to the man.

“Cornelius Sigan. You have been using magic to terrorise local people, and are hereby contained by unit...”

“Your father will pay for this! Don’t think this is going to stop us.” For a moment, Arthur looked into the sorcerer’s eyes and shuddered. This was why he had been raised a warrior. This was why he and his team spent days tracking down sorcerers and containing them. To stop the evil spreading across the land, taking control and corrupting people.

“You have been defeated.” Arthur responded coldly, letting his military side over take him and causing ice to shoot into his normally passionate eyes. Sigan merely smirked, a cold, menacing look that Arthur had to force himself not to look away from. Before he had time to react, Sigan’s hand had shot through the bars, grabbing the front of Arthur’s shirt and jerking him forward. Arthur’s hands shot up just in time to stop him hitting the cage face first, but before he could push away, Sigan’s other hand found his throat.

“Sir!” Leon leapt forward, but Arthur stopped him with a mere look. Sigan pulled his apparent captive forward.

“You will not stop the uprising. You take us down one by one, and we will rise up ten-fold. Give up Daddy’s crusade whilst you can, Pendragon.”

“We will always continue fighting against bastards like you.” One of Arthur’s hands drifted down to his pocket, and before Sigan could process his movement, he had been hit with the taser. Arthur pulled away, casting the sorcerer a filthy look before moving further up the van.

“More speed, Percival. I want to be rid of this bastard once and for all.”

The rest of the mission went without anything untoward happening. The drop off was made, the sorcerer being taken out of their hands by whoever the hell it was. Even Arthur didn’t know. Then the rest of the team returned to their makeshift barrack. Namely, Arthur’s spacious flat.

The evidence there was six of them living there was obvious. Apart from Arthur’s room, which he kept firmly off limits to all of them, clutter crowded the once designer space. Sleeping bags took over the lounge, half eaten packets of food littered the kitchen worktops. It wasn’t often they returned to Camelot, and they had nowhere else to go, not with all the other divisions taking up any space that had been available.

Leaving his team to squabble over who wanted to watch what and whose turn it was to cook, Arthur hit the shower. The jets of water hit his body hard, teasing out the aches from the day’s fight. He tipped his head back, letting the water cascade over his face as he thought back on his decisions. Had he been right letting Leon and Lancelot take on Sigan without him? He was supposed to be stopping the sorcerers, the rest of them stopping whatever magic the fugitive in question threw at them. The anti-magic potions were the best, half an hour of pure immunity against whatever magic was thrown their way. But judging by how long the damn gargoyle had chased him for, Arthur knew they had cut it close. Too close.

Regretfully, he eventually snapped off the water, dragging a towel through his hair before wrapping it around his waist and sliding back into his room, loving the feeling of being able to shut them out. It wasn’t just the men he could shut out though, but his entire fucking crazy lifestyle. What sort of person did this?

Wriggling into a pair of dark jeans and an even darker shirt, Arthur sat on the edge of his bed, running his hand through his wet hair. He would have to drill them even harder tomorrow. They couldn’t afford for things to be cut that fine again and he would be damned if any of those bastards managed to truly hurt one of his men. For as much as Arthur knew they were loyal to him – and not just because of who his father was – Arthur returned that loyalty. No one messed with the Round Table, they were beginning to truly make a name for themselves throughout the whole damn army, even if no one knew precisely what they did.

Eventually, Arthur knew he would have to go out there and face them. Despite the rules, he had no doubts that Gwaine would come and find him if he didn’t. The man would brush it off with some insult that would have Arthur rolling his eyes, but the young man knew what he would really be doing. He would be checking Arthur was okay. After all, their leader was notorious for not reporting injuries, and he knew the man could still vividly remember the last time Arthur hadn’t returned from a shower and Gwaine had eventually been sent to find him. It had cost Arthur two weeks in hospital.

Pushing open the door, Arthur leant against it for a moment. Well, if it could be considered leaning, considering he was still practically poker straight, never being able to switch off from the job long enough to truly relax. He was a soldier through and through, it was all he had ever known. Even so, he couldn’t help but smile softly at the scene in front of him.

He wasn’t the only one to have taken the time to clean up. No one was left in their combat gear any longer. Percival was sitting on the edge of the sofa, relaxing back into it. The tracksuit he had donned simply highlighted his size, and not for the first time was Arthur glad the man was on their size. He wouldn’t want to meet the giant down an alleyway on dark night, that was sure. But underneath it all, the man had a soft heart. Even more so than Lancelot, who was practically sitting on the man’s feet from where he was slouched on the floor. Arthur had never met anyone with such noble intentions, and even the lose jeans and baggy tee-shirt the man was now wearing made him look, well...knightly.

Elyan was next to him, looking calm and controlled as always. His attire practically matched Arthur’s, but the slogans were visible from across the room, giving him his individuality. That was just another reason why Arthur wouldn’t change his team for the world. They were uniformed and thought as one when they were out on a job. When they could unwind however, they had no qualms about letting their personality come throw. Arthur’s eyes flickered over the immaculately dressed Leon sitting on the other edge of the sofa - although Arthur couldn’t remember a time the man didn’t look immaculate – and onto Gwaine. He was spread practically as wide as he could across the floor. Unlike the others, he hadn’t even got as far as putting a shirt on. 

Arthur sighed, grabbing the closest one to him that he knew belonged to the man and threw it across the room. As always, his aim was spot on and the material landed with a soft flump over Gwaine’s head. He immediately sat up, shaking it lose and glaring around the room until he gaze fell on the smirking Arthur.

“Prat.”

“So I’ve been told.” Arthur responded somewhat cheerfully, crossing the room and flicking the kettle on. “You know the rules, put a shirt on.”

He moved over and perched on the back of the sofa. “You did well out there. Sigan is our strongest yet, it’s going to make a big difference to their attack with one of their key players out of the way.”

“He’s certainly the strongest,” Lancelot muttered, glancing down at the bandage just visible under the sleeve of his top. As usual, Percival had done a good job at patching up his friend. Hearing the kettle flick off, Arthur hadn’t even contemplated moving before Leon had jumped up, automatically beginning to make six mugs of coffee. Arthur knew they would have to get more soon. They would have to get a lot of things soon, for he had a feeling they weren’t going to be leaving Camelot any time soon. The fact that he had been sent a message telling them to stand by for orders made him sure of that. If their orders consisted of moving to a different district, the message would have been to prepare to move and then wait for orders.

But it hadn’t been, so Arthur was sure they were staying. But six men in a flat, who spent most of the day either training or planning resources for attacks and their nights roaming the streets hunting down their targets was beginning to show. For a group that were impeccable when it came to making sure they had everything they needed for an attack, they weren’t very good at food shopping.

“What were his particular strengths?”

“Apart from gargoyles?” Gwaine muttered drily, causing Elyan to throw a cushion at him. Interrupting before it could go any further, Arthur set the de-brief in motion. 

They talked for the rest of the night. To begin with, it was all strictly professional, but when Leon wondered over with the coffee, the conversation slipped. Playful banter about whose shot was better than whose and the amount of times Arthur had been personally threatened by the sorcerers took over. Eventually, they stopped talking about work altogether, just allowing their friendship to dominate what happened next. For a group that were stuck together the whole time, they had lasted an amazingly long time without wanting to strangle each other.

Arthur had no idea what time he had eventually fallen asleep, curled up in a chair listening to Gwaine and Lancelot arguing over who was a better shot. It was dawn when he opened his eyes again though, and he knew he couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours at the most. Someone had placed a blanket over him, and Arthur had a very good idea of who. Leon had been the one to show him the ropes as he was growing up. His father may have wanted a military son, but he wasn’t going to take time out in order to create him himself. In that moment, Arthur had gained himself a mentor, a teacher and a big brother all in one go. Time had not changed that bond, even if they didn’t always agree with one another.

The rest of the room was silent. Gwaine was asleep where he was spread across the floor, but his head was resting against Lancelot’s leg, who was propped up against the sofa. Leon was resting back, as was Percival. Elyan was curled up between them. For a moment, Arthur just looked around him with a sleepy smile. These men were his family now, and they did a much better job than his blood relatives. A half-sister who had turned traitor and joined the sorcerers, and a father that only acknowledged him when it was to give out more orders. There had been a time when Arthur had been desperate for the man’s praise. Now however, although he still craved someone telling him he had done well, it was not Uther Pendragon he wanted to hear those words from. 

The shrill noise of the doorbell rang through the flat. Arthur suppressed a smirk as he stood up, inwardly laughing at Gwaine jerking awake, smacking his head on the coffee table at the same time. Arthur shook his head in fond amusement, and pulled open the door. Only to practically leap to attention.

“Sir.”

“Arthur.” Arthur had known there were orders on their way, but what he hadn’t been expecting was for his father to be the one to deliver them. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and by the time Uther had stepped into the extremely cluttered and basically filthy flat, the rest of the team were standing to attention.

“Sir.” They all chorused at once, and Arthur grinned behind his father’s back. They never did that for him.

“At ease. Round Table, you did well last night.” Arthur wasn’t the only one who blinked in shock. Uther didn’t seem to realise the atmosphere he had created, but instead pressed on, his tone as professional as ever. “It has come to our attention there is a new one. One of unparalleled strength, and he is here, in Camelot.”

“They said that about the last one.” Gwaine muttered. Thankfully, Percival took that moment to step in front of his comrade, so Uther’s glare fell on no one. Arthur’s did though. He knew that whilst he didn’t have direct contact with the young man, Gwaine would be able to feel Arthur’s glare, and no doubt would be squirming slightly behind Percivall’s broad back. Uther ignored the interruption. Arthur smirked drily. No doubt his father was used to ignoring people.

“Details are contained within. You have three days to bring him in.” He handed the folder over to Arthur, who immediately chucked it across the room, Lancelot catching it with ease. The commander blushed slightly at his father’s disapproval look, something that only deepened when he took in the state of the flat.

“Arthur, I raised you better than this.”

“You didn’t raise me at all.” Arthur shot back, only to immediately drop his gaze as Uther turned his steely one on his son. The men immediately stiffened, Leon taking an automatic step forward.

“You are a commander, Arthur, you are expected to look after your men. Wasn’t there a girl? Someone who made sure you looked half presentable?”

It was Lancelot’s turn to flush this time, and if anything, the tension only got worse.

“There was, Father. But Lancelot’s fiancée has better things to do than tidy up after us. Gwen won’t be helping.”

A moment of confusion flickered over Uther’s face. The last he had heard, this Gwen had been sharing his son’s bed, not one of the men’s. He didn’t comment though, knowing good relations between the men were something crucial, especially considering what this unit did. 

“See that you clear up this mess.”

“Sir.” The men all stiffened again as Uther strode from the flat. Arthur let the door bang behind him, and Gwaine let out a low whistle.

“Well, that could have gone worse.”

“Shut up.” Arthur growled. If there was one thing that really managed to get under Arthur Pendragon’s skin, it was his father.

“Oooh, someone got out of bed on the wrong side...”

“Enough, Gwaine.” Ever the peacemaker, Leon shot the younger man a warning glare, and Gwaine backed down, his eyes alight with mischief. Out of all of them, he knew what buttons to press to make Arthur explode, and took great delight in doing it whenever he could. It was only because he was one of Arthur’s best fighters that he hadn’t been kicked out in the beginning. Now however, each member of the team was needed just as much as the next.

“Come on then, let’s have a look who is supposed to be the powerful one this time.” Elyan muttered, trying to lighten the mood. He walked over to stand next to Lancelot, Percival peering over his shoulder as Lancelot flicked open the file. Gwaine sidled in closer and even Leon took a step towards them.

“Fucking hell, they just get younger and younger.”

“Who have we got this time?” Arthur asked with a sigh. He sat back down again. Part of him wanted to join his men, but there was a part of him – the part that always appeared after seeing his father – that reminded him the men were reporting to him.

“A 19 year old kid!” Gwaine scoffed. “He’s supposed to be the most powerful yet? Get real!”

“19 isn’t that young,” Elyan responded heatedly. “It’s only four years younger than you and Arthur. Only two less than me.”

“It’s still a kid.”

“Name? Location? Known contacts?” Arthur’s voice was strictly professional. Age didn’t matter, they had a target to bring in. The age would work in the kid’s advantage. His men were already doubting him. Arthur knew they had to keep focused.

“Last seen at Avalon,” Gwaine read, smirking.

“The night club?”

“The very same. Looks like we’ve got a real danger here. We’re going against a teenager, we’ll be screwed.”

“Continue.” Arthur ordered. He hadn’t been to Avalon for a good few months. It had been an interesting leave of absence that month.

“He’s quite a looker. Name of....” The voice paused whilst Lancelot scanned the document. “Merlin Emrys.”

“No fucking way.”

“Sir?” Arthur was sitting bolt upright, his fist alternating between clenching and relaxing. 

“Give me the file.”

“Sir?” Leon sounded confused as he glanced between his commander and the folder. Gwaine didn’t question though, he just pulled the folder out of Lancelot’s hand and thrust it at Arthur. Arthur flicked through it, coming to a stop on the page containing a picture. Of a very familiar youth, his striking black hair setting off the brilliance of his eyes, framed by prominent cheek bones.

“Fuck.”

“Have you met him?” Percival asked, confused by Arthur’s reaction. The man normally could rival his father when it came to having a lid on his emotions.

“Worse.”

“You know him?” Elyan offered, sharing a puzzled with Lancelot as Arthur shook his head, feeling a flush work its way up his neck. Gwaine correctly interpreted the expression.

“Arthur Pendragon!” He exclaimed, hands on his hips as he tried – and failed – to do an impression of Uther. “Have you been screwing the enemy?”

Arthur dropped his gaze.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Target spotted, proceed with caution.

“Are you sure you want to be here, Sir?” Arthur could barely hear Leon’s voice over the pumping music. He knew there was no chance of the coms being of any use in here, they couldn’t hear each other when they were standing next to each other, let alone halfway across the room. The six of them were gathered around the bar, the only place they could simply stand there and not draw attention to themselves. They were all dressed in civilian clothes, knowing they needed to blend it. Of course, most of them – Leon aside – had taken it as the chance to dress up a bit, as if they really were going for a night out rather than an operation. The eldest of them had merely rolled his eyes and had to put up with Gwaine teasing him for hours about being old.

“It’s my duty.” Arthur told him shortly, in no mood to put up with any more. His revelation had certainly brought about some remarks, but he was not going to let the men think that a one-night stand was going to cloud his mind on the matter. He had a job to do, he was going to do it, end of story. Leon looked as if he wanted to argue some more – he in particular had been surprised about what had come out of the younger man’s mouth that night – but Arthur pushed on.

“You all know your positions. Keep contact at all times, make sure you can see at least one other knight. When you see the target, we have to flush him out of here, it’s too exposed, too many civilians.”

“Do we use the tonic now or once we have seen him?” Lancelot asked, his eyes already scanning the dance floor. Gwaine was doing the same, but judging by the smirk on the man’s face, Arthur wasn’t sure whether he was looking for their target, or just admiring the view. 

“Now. He’s supposed to be a regular here, if we don’t see him in the next half an hour, we’ll simply come back tomorrow. But he is also supposed to be powerful; I’m not taking any chances. Drink them now.”

As one, the men pulled out the small phials and downed the contents. Arthur had got his halfway to his mouth when he felt it. He was being watched.

Without thinking of what he was doing, his hand drifted back to his pocket and he replaced the bottle. For a split second, so quick no one would notice, his hand drifted under the back of his shirt, checking his gun as his eyes scanned the crowds.

“Sir?” Elyan was watching his commander, watching the way he had immediately tensed. “Hostiles?” 

Arthur didn’t immediately answer, he was too busy searching. For anyone outside of their group, he was simply eyeing people up. But to the knights, their prince was analysing each individual, looking for a sign or indication they could potentially be a threat.

“I don’t think so,” Arthur eventually murmured, but he didn’t relax. If none of his men could feel the gaze, it meant it was aimed at him alone rather than their group. Arthur wasn’t sure if that made it more or less of a threat. “Split up, I want him found.”

The men made a causal show of splitting up, and Arthur had to admire them for it. They certainly didn’t look like they had just been given orders. He remained by the bar, lounging on it slightly as he continued to scan the crowds. Leon was, as per usual, next to him, and Arthur couldn’t help but smirk.

“Relax, would you?”

“It’s alright for you lot. I’m too old for this.”

“Leon, you’re 28. That’s not exactly old.”

“Easy for you to say. Sir?” No sooner had Leon finished speaking, Arthur straightened up. Almost automatically, his hand slipped to his gun before he stopped himself, making a conscious effort to force his hand back around the front of his body. For a brief second, he had caught sight of a very familiar pair of blue eyes blinking at him from across the room. Arthur blinked himself, and the eyes were gone, but the commander was on full alert.

“Target spotted.” Leon immediately tensed as well, attempting to follow Arthur’s gaze but seeing nothing. “Sir?” He got no answer though, for Arthur had already begun to move, blending his way with ease through the crowds, his now unblinking eyes fixed on the spot where he had seen the sorcerer. Arthur refused to call him by his name. 

“Arthur! That impulsive idiot!” Before Leon could break into a rant, he touched his ear, alerting the rest of the knights to the situation and then started pushing his way through the crowds, trying to get close to his commander. Arthur always did his own thing in a hunt. Leon couldn’t fault him, he always made sure his men were safe and normally got the prize. But he certainly didn’t stick around when he caught sight of what he wanted.

Arthur had indeed seen what he wanted. Wrapped around a slightly stockier guy with light brown hair. Arthur frowned, and something in him knew it wasn’t because it would make getting their target out of the club any easier. He didn’t need to worry though, for as Arthur approached, the couple disappeared out one of the side doors. Arthur’s face split into a grin.

“Prince to all knights, target located. East side door.” Not waiting for the confirmation, Arthur sped out the door himself. Immediately backing into the wall, he all but melted into the shadows, hoping Gwaine wasn’t going to come charging out like he normally did. Locating the target so quickly meant they had time to work with here, and Arthur watched as the couple said their goodbyes. His hand was clenching and relaxing as he watched Mer....the sorcerer give the man a kiss on the forehead and sent him on his way. He then strolled casually down the street, as if he hadn’t a care in the world. If the rumours were true about the kid, Arthur realised he probably shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

Apart from a certain unit on his tail. As the target rounded a corner, Arthur sped up slightly, one hand slipping under his shirt to grasp his gun, keeping his footsteps light and soft. Not that it did him any good, for as soon as he rounded the corner, a slim but strong hand grabbed him by the upper arms.

Arthur immediately tensed, but didn’t lash out. He had to be sure, he couldn’t get a civilian involved. But when he was slammed against the wall and found himself looking into a pair of eyes, he swallowed. He had located the target alright.

“Why are you...Arthur? Arthur, is that you?” The hands disappeared as Merlin stepped back, allowing Arthur to get a proper chance to look at him. He looked good. Dressed in black fitted jeans and a top that looked to be at least two sizes too small, it hugged his slim build well. His dark hair framed his face well, the striking cheekbones framing the ocean blue eyes. His skin had always been pale, well, as far as Arthur remembered, so the black of his clothing set it off well. Target be damned, Arthur wasn’t above appreciating anyone, and Merlin was nothing short of gorgeous. Unfortunately, Merlin seemed to be aware of Arthur’s gaze running over him and he stepped back slightly with a smirk.

“Like what you see? Well, well, well, Arthur, I didn’t take you as the stalking type.” Arthur pushed himself away from the wall a little bit, regaining control of his breathing again. Merlin didn’t let him go far though, replacing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder to keep him there.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” His hand drifted to his pocket. If Merlin stayed this close, he was not going to need the gun. He knew it was a low blow, but at this rate, he was going to be able to get the anti-magic bands on the teenager before Merlin knew what hit him. Whilst Arthur normally showed a confidence he wasn’t feeling when approaching a sorcerer, this time, it was genuine. He knew he would be able to distract Merlin for long enough, it had happened before, after all.

“No? So that’s why you followed Will and I from the club then? That’s why you followed me down here, up for a repeat performance?” Merlin’s smile was wider now, more genuine, and Arthur cursed the fact that something seemed to go weak. He had to stay focused; this was the target, nothing more. He glanced down slyly.

“You certainly seem to be up for it.” Without further warning, he had reversed their positions, holding Merlin against the wall. He had a firm grip on the youth’s upper arms, and just hoped that Merlin couldn’t feel the band Arthur had hidden in the palm of his hand. 

For a moment, the pair of them just froze. Arthur was breathing heavily, and Merlin seemed to have forgotten how to breathe altogether.

“Arthur...”

“Shut up, Merlin.” It was the first time he had said his name since they had found out he was their latest target, and leaning forward, Arthur used his bigger build to pin Merlin against the wall even more. Merlin tried to raise a hand, but Arthur grabbed onto his wrist, pinning it against the wall. “Just shut up.”

Without really thinking what he was doing, he had leant forward. Merlin met him halfway. All the resistance in the younger man’s body disappeared as soon as his lips crashed onto Arthur’s. He once again tried to raise his hand, and despite knowing it wasn’t to push him away, Arthur maintained his grip, keeping him pinned to the wall. His hand trailed down Merlin’s arm as he fought for dominance in the kiss, unwilling to admit he liked how forceful Merlin was. His hand continued to wander teasingly down Merlin’s arm, and Arthur could have sworn he heard Merlin moan into the kiss.

Snick.

Arthur pulled away completely, leaving Merlin leaning against the wall. The youth slowly looked down as the band flared into life, pulsing blue as it reacted against his magic.

“You prick.” He muttered quietly, automatically tugging at it. But there was no way in hell he was going to get it off.

“Sorry, nothing personal.” Arthur responded flippantly, watching closely. Merlin tried to take a step forward, but a wave of dizziness crashed over him and he sagged against the wall instead. Arthur nodded in satisfaction as Merlin clearly tried to keep himself upright and let his hand drift to his ear.

“Prince to all Knights, target located and contained.” Merlin glared at him, and for the first time ever, Arthur glanced away.

“You’re a sorcerer.” If anything, Merlin’s glare deepened as he pushed himself upright on slightly steadier legs.

“No.” He stated bluntly. “I’m a warlock, difference.” And before Arthur knew what had happened, he had been once again slammed against the wall, hard this time. 

“What are you-,”

“Just shut up.” Merlin echoed his own words back at him, and to Arthur’s horror, put a hand on the blond’s forehead. The commander could have sworn he heard Merlin whisper something, and then knew he was not imaging it when the teenager’s eyes flashed gold. Immediately, Arthur felt something cold trickle down his back, and as he made to throw Merlin off, found he couldn’t move. Even without the band, Merlin shouldn’t have been able to use magic against him he had... Arthur groaned. He had never taken the tonic, instead putting it back when he had caught sight of Merlin. He had left himself open and vulnerable to magical attacks. His eyes were drawn to the pulsing band.

Merlin followed his gaze and smirked.

“Someone didn’t read their debrief. You think one measly band is going to stop me?” He reached forward, sliding his hand into Arthur’s back pocket, his grin widening as he felt Arthur tense against his touch. He drew out the tonic.

“Did someone forget to take their medicine?” He mocked slightly, throwing it down onto the ground and crushing it with his heel. His hand returned to Arthur’s back, and this time, he pulled out the man’s gun. “Not very subtle, Arthur. You should have at least hidden down the front, could have passed it off as being pleased to see me.”

Arthur flushed, trying to pull against the spell holding him. The only thing he was grateful for was that his men would be on their way. All he had to do was stopping Merlin from either killing him in that time, or running for it. Arthur wasn’t quite sure what was worse. Not that the gun would be able to kill him, they wanted sorcerers alive. Whilst it had been real bullets against the gargoyles, the only damage Merlin could do with the gun now was steal a few hours from Arthur’s life. Even so, the blond knew that Merlin could kill him with a thought. The band had done nothing, and pinned against the wall, Arthur couldn’t move to get another on him.

For a moment, Arthur just glared, until finally, Merlin dropped his gaze with a sigh. Reaching out with one hand, he ran the pad of his thumb across Arthur’s cheek in an almost gentle caress.

“You’ve got it all wrong, you know.”

“What?” Arthur spat, a strange mixture of anger and arousal running through him. 

“Magic. It’s not bad. Only those who use it are.”

“Well that makes sense.” Arthur responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Giving his current position, Merlin’s words weren’t exactly soothing.

“I’m not a sorcerer, Arthur. They steal power. Mine is natural. I couldn’t have chosen it if I wanted to. And considering the cost, I wouldn’t have done.”

“You use it against people,” Arthur growled, once more trying to pull himself away from the wall. Merlin’s eyes flickered slightly, and Arthur felt the pressure holding him increase.

“No, I don’t.” There was something earnest in the way Merlin was addressing him now, something in those wide eyes that were almost begging Arthur to listen to him. As he looked at the youth, Arthur frowned. Despite their previous encounter and how this one was panning out, there was something surprisingly innocent about the look Merlin was giving him. It made Arthur realise how young he was. But somehow it ended up as more than that. It made him realise how young they all were, fighting in a battle at the orders of their superiors, never stopping to think about it. Arthur blinked and looked away.

“Then what do you call this?” He glanced down at himself, gesturing to Merlin’s use of magic against him.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” Merlin responded coolly. “You’ll have me killed within an instant if I let you go. But listen to me, Arthur,” again, the pressure holding the blond increased.”Get your head out of your arse and just listen to me. I would never use it against anyone with the intention to harm. I’m not one of them.”

“Let me go!” Arthur growled, refusing to acknowledge the sorcerer’s – no, warlock’s – words. He had never come across a warlock before. He didn’t know the difference, didn’t know how it worked. He didn’t even know whether Merlin was telling the truth and warlocks even existed. One thing was for sure, he was certainly finding out when he got out of this mess.

“Will you let me go?” Again, that earnest note was in Merlin’s voice, and Arthur found himself swallowing, suddenly wanting to say yes.

“Back away, sorcerer.” He didn’t have the chance to respond before his eyes slid past Merlin. The rest of the team had arrived. Leon was being flanked by Lancelot and Gwaine, all three with their guns trained on Merlin. Without turning his head, Arthur knew Percival and Elyan would be on either side, possibly even against the wall themselves. Merlin would have nowhere to run.

“What is it with you people? I’m a fucking warlock, difference!” The cocky note was back in Merlin’s voice now and as he met Arthur’s glance briefly, the commander knew he wasn’t going to be showing that vulnerable side again. He had tried to explain, and it could have cost him the time he needed to escape. Arthur caught sight of the smirk flicker momentarily onto Gwaine’s face before he schooled it into an expression of indifference was again. A true soldier.

“Back away.” As one, all the men took a step closer. Merlin seemed to realise he was being hemmed in and hefted Arthur’s gun into a more secure positioning in his hand, letting it rest in-between Arthur’s eyes.

“Sorry, nothing personal.” He muttered, shooting the man a grin before turning his attention back to the advancing men. “You back up, or blondie here won’t have a brain left. If, of course, he actually has one. Looks like the type to think with other parts of his body rather than his head.”

Arthur couldn’t help but be slightly impressed, ignoring the attempt at an insult. He had heard worse. Intentionally or not, Merlin hadn’t given away that he knew Arthur’s name.

“Prince?” Arthur ignored Merlin’s eyebrows rising; instead let his gaze focus on Leon.

“Tell the men to back up, Knight 1.” He instructed, locking eyes with the man pointedly. Leon frowned, but then dropped his eyes to Arthur’s gesturing hand and received his true instructions. He nodded.

“Yes, Sir. Knights, two paces back.” As the men moved back, Merlin moved the gun, almost caressing Arthur’s face with it.

“Shame you’re such a prat.” He muttered, genuinely sounding full of regret. He waited, clearly trying to ready himself for the moment. Arthur knew the precise second when Merlin was going to run, for a spark seemed to alight itself in the boy’s eyes.

“Well nice meeting you all.” He drawled, lowering the gun, but keeping it trained on Arthur so the men still saw him as a threat. “And I’ll be seeing you,” he paused, grabbing Arthur’s chin, “soon I expect.”

If anyone was to ask, Arthur would have said it was the spell that stopped him from drawing back from the somewhat fierce kiss Merlin suddenly gave him, before the boy backed up completely, walking down the road, gun and eyes still trained on Arthur.

He got halfway down the road before he threw the gun to the side, turned and ran. Leon immediately fired.

His aim was true and the dart hit Merlin in the shoulder. The boy dropped with a cry of surprise and pain as the sedative worked its way through his body instantly and the Knights ran forward, Arthur catching up when he realised he could move again. Merlin shakily raised himself to his hands and knees, flicking one hand out behind him. Arthur stumbled slightly at the wind washing over him, but the rest of the men didn’t feel it, the tonic protecting them. Leon glanced at him as he stumbled, but Arthur shook his head. He wasn’t going to admit that he had forgotten to drink the anti-magic.

Merlin collapsed back onto his stomach as the men approached him, whimpering slightly. Arthur felt something in him stir as Percival stepped forward. When he backed away, there were bands encircling Merlin’s ankles and other wrist as well. Arthur lifted his chin.

“Neck as well.” Percival blinked in surprise, sharing a stunned look with Elyan. They had never had to secure someone to that level before, and considering Merlin had just taken the hit of one of their effective darts, they didn’t think he would be putting up much of a fight. Percival caught Arthur’s steady gaze and immediately dropped back down again. Using one hand, he pinned Merlin to the floor and secured his neck with the other. Merlin moaned, dropping his head back down to the ground as all five bands pulsed. Arthur glared coldly. There was no way he would be able to fight off that much.

But even so, Arthur had seen how he had barely reacted to the one band. He knew their half an hour was up, within only a few moments, the rest of his men were as open to attacks as he was. That was not a chance he was going to take. Not to mention he wanted to show Merlin who was really in control here. The youth had been fortunate in the sense he had been able to distract Arthur. But that just meant the commander was adamant that he wasn’t going to be underestimated twice.

Merlin took a feeble attempt at pulling himself away from the men encircling him. The sedative and the bands were taking their toll however, and he didn’t make it very far. Arthur watched him, knowing that even now, the boy’s magic was fighting against the drug. He had a horrible feeling that even this wouldn’t be enough to bring Merlin down. But surrounded by the Knights, and especially considering he had sworn that he didn’t use his magic to hurt anyone, Arthur knew he wouldn’t have the strength to run. Suddenly, he didn’t want the boy to try.

He firmly told himself it was because Merlin was the target; it was his duty to bring him in. But Arthur knew deep down it was more than that. He didn’t want him hurt trying to escape, not on Arthur’s orders. Trying to make his gaze as cold as he could, he held out his hand to Lancelot. The man blinked, glancing towards Leon, who nodded.

Sighing, Lancelot reached into his back pocket, pulling out a silver case and handing it to Arthur. Flicking it open, Arthur plucked the hypodermic needle from inside and handed the case back. The men backed away slightly as he bent down. He rested one hand against the back of Merlin’s head, holding it to the ground. He pulled the top of his shirt away from his neck with the other.

“You...utter...prick...” Merlin mumbled, tensing as much as he could. He was barely conscious though, and Arthur merely smirked, letting his hand ghost over Merlin’s hair slightly before resuming his hold.

“You’ll thank me for it later.” He muttered, slowly inserting the needle and pushing down on the plunger. Merlin gave another whimper as another lot of the drug was forced into his body, but even he couldn’t stop that onslaught. He tried lashing out weakly at Arthur, but the commander didn’t even flinch back from the blow. He didn’t even feel it. He could feel Merlin fighting, desperately trying to cling onto consciousness. But after only a few moments – although it felt much longer – his body slumped against the ground and Arthur stepped back.

“Knight 5, get the van. 2 and 3, get the kid. Let’s move out.” His orders given, Arthur stood there clenching his jaw as Percival hurried away. If this target had been anyone else, if it hadn’t been Merlin, Arthur was fully aware he would be dead. He had slipped up. It couldn’t happen again. 

Lancelot and Gwaine stepped forward and each grabbed one of Merlin’s arms. By draping his arms across their shoulders, it looked like they were simply supporting him rather than dragging him along. Leon and Elyan took the lead, talking about nothing in overly loud voices to add to the effect. Normally, Arthur played his part, but this time, he just followed silently behind, mind working overtime in regards to how it could have gone so wrong.

He was lucky his men had their wits about him. Leon almost crashed into the old lady giving them a disapproving look, although Arthur was sure he let himself get that close on purpose. Leon was always aware of his surroundings. Elyan grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back, and they both almost toppled over, Elyan giggling the whole time. She pursed her lips and glanced towards the trio behind.

“Can’t hold his booze!” Gwaine all but yelled, grin firmly in place. “Bit like these two tossers.” Motioning towards the still giggling Elyan looking like he was holding up Leon, the woman rolled her eyes, muttering something about the youth of today before stalking away. Immediately, Leon and Elyan straightened up, and the strange party moved on, silent. They were getting close to the meeting point. If Merlin was working with anyone, now would be the ambush point as they moved out into the open.

Nothing happened though. Before they had stood there for even a minute, Percival came roaring around the corner, swinging the van to a stop and causing Elyan’s shoes to get completely soaked from the small puddle that had been resting innocently on the side of the road. Leon pulled open the door before leaping in, stretching his arms back out as Lancelot ducked out from under Merlin, handing him over.

Arthur stayed back as he watched his men. They worked with precision and ease. Unlike him, they didn’t make mistakes that could potentially cost them their lives. Arthur was so ashamed of forgetting to take the tonic. He had drilled into them that they couldn’t afford mistakes, one glance at Merlin from across the room, and that is precisely what he had done. If the man hadn’t been so damn pure, Arthur knew he would be dead.

“Sir?” Elyan’s voice echoed out of the van and Arthur snapped himself back into reality. He checked the street one more time, was satisfied that it was clear, and leapt into the van. The men had already manoeuvred Merlin over to the back, his legs resting in the cage. Leon had the youth resting on his shoulder, Lancelot and Gwaine busy fixing the small chains to the bands, securing him physically as well as magically. Arthur moved forward as they pushed him into the cage. He was just another target to them, nothing more, nothing less. Arthur was fully aware that whilst he had been raised to believe magic was evil, they just saw it as their job, not having any real preference either way. The only sorcerers they had encountered were the ones that tended to be trying to kill them at the time, meaning their experience was slightly biased.

Lancelot and Gwaine moved away as Arthur approached, but Leon just nodded, shifting forward and letting Merlin fall into the cage before shutting it and moving back all in one movement. Arthur felt like he was watching in slow motion as Merlin lurched over to one side before falling back towards the commander, still unconscious.

Without thinking what he was doing, Arthur’s hand shot through the bars of the cage as Merlin’s body arched back towards him. He gently cradled the boy’s head with one hand as he used the other to lower Merlin’s body to the floor of the cage, guiding his head down as he did so and making sure to keep his hand cushioning it from the cold and hard bars. Normally, he was the first to admit he didn’t care how the target was contained, especially because they were normally explaining in great detail how they were going to kill the blond.

But Merlin was different. Arthur dismissed it as just being a one-night stand, and if he was honest, he had been completely wasted by the time Merlin had approached him, he would have never been able to switch off from the job long enough otherwise. But even despite their night together, there was something so innocent about the younger man, something that made Arthur just want to give up everything he had ever known in that one instant he locked eyes with him and make sure Merlin stayed safe. It was stupid, he knew it was. It was probably some sort of spell to make him let down his guard.

Even so, Merlin had been given the chance to kill one of the men responsible for hunting him down in the first place. He had known that, and given up his chance to run by attempting to explain. Staring down at him, Arthur couldn’t help but note just how young he looked.

“There’s something about you, Merlin.” He muttered, ignoring the fact that his men were doing their utmost not to look over at his uncharacteristically reserved behaviour. He didn’t have to explain himself to them. Besides, as soon as they had dropped Merlin off, Arthur knew he would go back to his old self – back to the “prat” as Gwaine was so fond of calling him – in no time. “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“Where to, Prince?” Arthur jumped and spun around, withdrawing his hand quickly as he turned to face the men. Percival had stopped the van down a side-street, clearly waiting for instructions. To Arthur’s discomfort, the rest of them were also watching him with strange expressions on their faces.

“The holding cells, where else?”

“Are you sure, Arthur?” It was Leon that spoke this time, and turning his gaze on the older man, Arthur found he suddenly had the urge to squirm under that gaze.

“Where else would we go?”

“Very well.” They all turned back to what they were doing as Percival started the engine up once more. Arthur didn’t even realise he had turned back to the cage until he was biting his lip, staring at Merlin’s collapsed form once again. It was only then he realised why they had all been looking at him so strangely. He never normally hesitated, and yet it had clearly been obvious in his body language he didn’t want to be doing this. They knew his reactions better than anyone; their lives often depended on being able to read each other. They had seen straight through him.

“The sooner I get rid of you, the better.” Arthur muttered somewhat bitterly at Merlin’s prone body, blaming the youth for the fact that he had swayed slightly in his normal ruthless attitude towards magic-users.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Target acquired and contained.

Returning to consciousness was always a painful ordeal, but Merlin found that this time was particularly unpleasant. His head was pounding, his heartbeat throbbing through his ears as he blearily pulled his eyes open. It took him a few moments to clear his vision enough to realise he was lying on his back, gazing up at a high but dim ceiling. A groan forced its way past his lips as he struggled to sit up, finally making his way into an upright position and finding –quite by accident- that there was a wall almost directly behind him as he fell back on it.

But as Merlin let his weight rest on his new support, he realised that something was wrong. Instead of the smoothness of a wall – or even the bumpiness, he didn’t always stay in the best of places – it was almost as if he was leaning on some sort of grating. With another groan, he pushed himself away and twisted his upper body around; staring in horror as he properly took in his surroundings.

He was in some sort of cell, scarcely lit and damp. In fact, the only real source of light he could see was coming from his own ankles and the bars behind him. A few lights were outside of the cell, but did little to illuminate the inside. The bands had been removed from around his neck and wrists, but the ones on his ankles still pulsed with anti-magic. In normal circumstances, Merlin was sure he could break through two if he concentrated hard enough; he had certainly been able to get out of one no problem. But this was no ordinary situation. He still felt weak from whatever drug they had used on him and knew that he would get nowhere. The cell was designed to contain sorcerers, the electric blue current running up and down the bars showed he wouldn’t be able to tamper with the locks.

Merlin moaned quite pathetically as he sat back again, trying to force his vision to stop weaving. Why did he always manage to get himself in trouble? It was why his mother had sent him to Camelot in the first place, desperate to get him away from the talk of their small village. He hadn’t meant to make that tree fall over, but whether he meant for it to happen or not did not matter. Will had offered to come with him, knowing Merlin would be hopeless at looking after himself in the bustling city. They had got separate apartments; Merlin was adamant that he was not going to be babysat. But that didn’t stop the two teenagers meeting nearly every day. Life had been going well.

Until that prat. Merlin knew he would have been bad news, especially judging by the way he had been so drunk he hadn’t been able to walk properly on their first meeting. Despite his flippant attitude at the time, Arthur was the first – and last – one night stand Merlin had ever had. He didn’t think it was right to gain himself that sort of reputation, not considering he had been told to stay low. But there was something about the blond that had just drawn him in. If he was completely honest, it was why he returned to Avalon night after night, hoping for a glimpse of the man again. That, and it had been the best shag he had had in years.

He had found him again alright, and now Merlin couldn’t believe what an idiot he had been. He had felt the man’s glance on him from across the room, and immediately felt something else reacting. Knowing that before he could approach Arthur, he first had to get rid of Will, he had muttered some excuse about wanting to go, all but dragged Will out and then made to double back around to the front of the club and slip back in. But fate apparently had it in for him, despite what had originally gone through his mind when he realised Arthur was following him. It appeared he had also been looking for Merlin, although apparently with completely different intentions to the teenager.

“Oi, kid!” A sharp voice made Merlin jump, and he almost slipped over where he was sitting as he sought out the location of the noise. Staring around the cell properly for the first time, Merlin felt the roof of his mouth go dry. How did he not notice that he wasn’t in here alone? Two men were lounging in the far corner, both watching him intently. Merlin couldn’t help but notice they were wearing no bands. It meant the warlock was more powerful than them. Merlin was not surprised, his natural power was always stronger than those with stolen power, he just hoped they didn’t realise what he truly was.

“W...who are you?” Merlin hated the way his voice broke slightly, but right now, he knew that he was in serious trouble. Not the forget-his-key-and-have-to-call-Will-at-three-in-the-morning trouble, but real danger instead.

“The name’s Sigan, this here is Alvarr. You?”

“Merlin.” 

“Merrrlin....” Said warlock didn’t like the way Sigan seemed to roll his name off his tongue like it was something of interest. He wrapped one hand around one of the bars, using it to pull himself to his feet and therefore not leave himself looking as vulnerable. The two men watched his every movement, but Merlin couldn’t help but notice the way Alvarr glanced at his ankles as he moved before muttering something in an undertone to Sigan. He too glanced down and smirked coldly.

“The infamous Round Table get you then, kid? Hope you were able to take a few of them down with you, self-righteous pricks.” Sigan spat on the cell floor, making it clear what he thought of the famous unit. Merlin shut his eyes with a groan. How could he have been so stupid!? He knew there was something far too professional about the way the unit had worked together, not to mention the anti-magic tonic he had found in Arthur’s pocket. They weren’t just some random hit squad who got lucky as Merlin had previously thought. They were the bloody hit squad, the legendary Round Table. He waited to feel the expected wave of hatred for their blond leader, but nothing came.

“You must be powerful for them to keep you all chained up like that.” Merlin jumped, not having seen that Alvarr had even moved until the man was suddenly right next to him. Merlin took a tentative step to the side.

“Don’t know what you mean.”

“Course you don’t,” Alvarr responded with a wink, glancing at Sigan out of the corner of his eye. Merlin noticed though. There wasn’t normally a lot that could get past the warlock, which was why he was kicking himself so much over not realising that Arthur was bad news. 

“Wh...where are we?” He knew it was a feeble attempt at changing the conversation, but Merlin knew he had to do something. His hand was clasping one of the bars behind his back and he could almost feel the anti-magic humming unpleasantly against his skin. But in a way, it was grounding him, forcing him to focus as he saw Sigan take a step closer out of the corner of his eye.

“No one knows, that’s the whole point.” Alvarr continued casually. It was clear the man was used to being in control of a situation, used to being the one pulling the strings. As he watched both men come closer, Merlin wildly wondered how he would get on with the blond prat who had landed him in the trouble to begin with. Maybe that was how they had caught him, let him clash horns with someone as controlling as Merlin believed him to be. Judging by the look he had seen in Arthur’s eye when the commander had him pinned against the alley wall, Merlin knew the man didn’t pull in all of his targets the way he had done for Merlin.

“So what are we doing here, what happens?” If Merlin sounded frightened, he didn’t care. This whole situation was going way over his head, all he had wanted was a night out with his best mate. How did they even know who he was anyway? He had meant what he had said to Arthur, he never used his magic to hurt anyone. As a result of being a warlock rather than a sorcerer, he had never killed anyone to obtain his gift either. He had done nothing to appear on their radar, and yet they had known exactly who he was and where he was. What about Will, would they go after him as well? Sucking in a deep breath, Merlin forced himself away from the bars, straightening up.

“There you go, knew that you had some kind of fighting spirit in you after all.” Alvarr purred, but Merlin ignored him, turning instead to study the bars. They glowed a soft blue, the anti-magic burning into the back of his eyes, mocking him, making him realise just how trapped he was. Unable to stop himself, a finger traced the bars thoughtfully. It had taken two doses of whatever that drug had been and all of the bands before he had been stopped. Could some bars really keep him in? Slowly letting his hand drift across them, Merlin took a couple of shaky steps to where he could make out a door in the bars. It looked simply enough.

A small smile flickered momentarily onto his face as he got closer. He would show the blond prat just who he was messing with when he had tried to insult Merlin by calling him a sorcerer. The smile went as soon as it had come though as Merlin shook his head, pushing the thought aside. No, Arthur was the last person he could see when he got out of here. He had to find Will, had to get them out of Camelot and simply disappear before anything else could happen. But first, he had to get out of here.

Merlin took another step towards the door, still letting his hand drag over the bars when he suddenly jolted violently. Quickly snatching his hand away, he stared at the bright red and angry looking mark in astonishment. Where the anti-magic had been a pleasant tingling before, that had been a full on burn.

“You didn’t think they would make it that easy, did you?” Sigan said coldly, causing Merlin to turn towards him. It was only then he realised that both Sigan and Alvarr had been watching him closely, Sigan looking bored and Alvarr interested.

“There has to be a way out.” Merlin snapped, taking a deep breath and making to grab the bar again. “Ow!”

Cradling his now throbbing hand, the warlock stepped back and glared at the lock. Unlike how he knew the magic worked for the two sorcerers standing behind him, he didn’t need words in order to be able to use his gift. All it took was thoughts alone on his behalf, and things moved to his will. Surely a lock was just something else to be moved?

Concentrating, Merlin was barely aware of Alvarr moving forward, looking curious. It seemed the man was unsure about whether or not Merlin would fail. Thinking back on what he had said earlier about Merlin being powerful, the young warlock had a flash of confidence and forced his magic into the lock in front of him.

For a moment, the lock seemed to absorb whatever Merlin was throwing at it. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his forehead as the bands around his ankles pulsed angrily to try and restrain his power. But Merlin wasn’t going to let that stop him, even when his head was beginning to spin and he could feel a small trickle of blood running from his nose. There was a strange humming noise ringing in his ears and his vision was starting to go blurry.

“Kid, back away!” Alvarr’s shout didn’t quite register with Merlin until he saw the lock glow. All the magic he had just channelled into it came shooting back out again like a beam, hitting Merlin square in the chest and practically throwing him across the cell. He hit the far wall, groaning as every inch of him tingled with the anti-magic. It was as if it was cruelly caressing his magic, forcing it down and keeping it there. With his heartbeat echoing loudly in his head, Merlin didn’t hear the door being opened and only just registered the sound of guns being fired.

Finally managing to lift his head slightly, the warlock gasped. Three men had entered the cell, two of them in full uniform and the other, a much older man, dressed more casually. The two uniformed men had guns trained on both Alvarr and Sigan, backing them into a far corner. Judging by the way they were both holding an arm and a leg respectively, Merlin could just about think straight in order to realise that they must have been hit with something to stop them trying to fight back now that the door was opened, resulting in the anti-magic being weaker.

Merlin, however, found that he had other problems as the old man began to approach him.

“No...” he moaned, attempting to move backwards out of the way, but had nowhere to go. Tucking himself in, he tried to make himself as small as possible, anything to stop the man touching him, but his efforts were in vain. As the man bent down next to him, Merlin found that he was watching him with wide eyes as he reached out and grabbed Merlin’s ankle, pulling it towards him.

“Who are you?” Merlin whispered, his fear beginning to back away slightly as the man simply prodded the band around his foot, making a disapproving noise but doing nothing to harm Merlin in the slightest.

“Gaius. I’m a doctor. You’ve taken quite a hit, young man. They want you in one piece, so I’m going to try and help.” 

“Whose they?”

“You don’t want to be asking so many questions. Now, stay still for a moment.” Merlin could only lie there, half being propped up against the wall and half simply sprawled across the floor as the man examined the bands, then moved up his body and began doing things like taking his temperature and peering into his eyes, muttering to himself the whole time. Merlin let it happen. He didn’t see the point of trying to resist, that latest hit had once again sent his magic spiralling completely out of his control. And with the two armed men the other side of the room and no clue as to where he was, he didn’t think he would get very far. Besides, there was something friendly about Gaius, something that Merlin almost found himself trusting the old man.

"Don’t be a fool." He thought furiously to himself. He had trusted Arthur for that split second when he realised the blond was following him from the club and look where it had got him. Locked up with absolutely no one knowing where he was. He wondered if Will had realised that he was missing yet, or what his mother would do when he didn’t pick up the phone to her.

“Well, you must be quite a strong one.” Merlin blinked himself out of the thoughts that were plaguing his mind, glancing back up at Gaius. The old man had sat back, but not moved away from Merlin, his hand resting almost companionably on the younger man’s shoulder and a warm, sympathetic look in his eye. Considering the cold, calculating glances Sigan and Alvarr had been giving him all morning (or afternoon. With no windows in the room, Merlin had no idea what time of day it was!), it was something of a relief.

“What do you mean?” Merlin asked quietly, curious as to whether the old doctor would have some of the answers that he had been missing for his whole life.

“I meant what I said about you taking quite a hit, I’ve read the report of what they did to bring you in. And yet you could still access your magic...”

“Not anymore.”

“Don’t interrupt me, boy. Until you took on the door, you could still feel your magic. It’s only now that you have been cut off from it. I’ve not seen someone that strong for years... you’re a warlock, aren’t you?”

Merlin tentatively nodded, finding his fingers playing with the edge of his shirt, unable to meet Gaius’ gaze. There was an almost awe-struck note in Gaius’ voice, and Merlin was struggling not to squirm. Despite desperately having tried to explain to Arthur the difference between the two, he was not used to people understanding that he wasn’t like the others.

“Alright, old man, time’s up. The boss wanted him looked at, you’ve done that. No time for chat, we need to move.” Despite the words, the guard’s voice wasn’t unfriendly, and Gaius slowly got to his feet.

“Trust in your destiny.” He whispered as he moved away from Merlin, leaving the boy gaping at him, totally confused. Their weapons staying trained on the two sorcerers, the guards ushered Gaius out first, only dropping their guard when the door clicked shut again. A hum sounded throughout the cell and Merlin winced as his head gave another throb, knowing the anti-magic was fully active once more. Staring down at the blister on his hand from where he had grabbed the bars, he knew that he wasn’t getting out. He turned his head slowly, watching Gaius and the guards walking away. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it or not, but he could have sworn that the doctor tipped him a wink just before he disappeared from sight.

“Bastards.” Sigan spat, pulling the dart out of his leg and sliding down the wall, wincing as he did so. Merlin was surprised to see that both him and Alvarr were still conscious, he remembered all too well what the drug did. Alvarr caught him looking and correctly interpreted his frown.

“They are more potent the stronger you are.” He said softly, his hand clutched over the wound in his arm and looking decidedly paler than Sigan. Merlin nodded, trying to look like he was paying attention even though the action made his stomach churn. Sitting himself up, he leant backwards on the wall, shutting his eyes to try and keep down the nausea. How did one night out go so wrong?

“I wonder what they would do to you.” Merlin’s eyes shot open and he let out a startled gasp. Alvarr was standing directly in front of him, having moved almost silently across the cell. Merlin’s eyes were immediately drawn to the man’s fingers where he was rolling the dart in between them, looking thoughtful. Merlin made to try and get up, only to find Sigan standing the other side of him, also holding his dart. They had him cornered.

“Not a lot.” Merlin said with a shaky laugh, trying to act like they were just fooling around. But a gleam had come into Sigan’s eyes and even Merlin couldn’t deny the smirk on Alvarr’s face. The warlock swallowed hard. “What are you doing?”

“I heard what the old man said to you. I heard that he hadn’t seen any one this powerful. And I heard him say that you were a warlock. Now that is interesting.”

“You must be mistaken.” Merlin grinned, an attempt at an easy smile as he pushed himself back against the wall, putting as much space between him and the two sorcerers as he could. “I’m not...”

“You really shouldn’t lie to me, Merlin, I don’t like it.” Alvarr whispered, and without warning, grabbed Merlin’s upper arm.

“No!” Merlin’s shout and desperate struggles did nothing as Alvarr simply held him still before plunging his dart into the side of Merlin’s neck. The room immediately spun as the man let go and Merlin almost toppled over, only saving himself from hitting the ground by an unsteady hand.

“Do you know how sorcerers take their power, Merlin?” There was almost a conversational tone in Alvarr’s voice as Sigan copied his actions and plunged his own dart into Merlin’s leg. The warlock let out a cry, not able to break his fall this time and once again found himself sprawled across the floor. Only this time, there were two sorcerers standing menacingly over him.

“No...” He whimpered, trying to move away but finding that he couldn’t even tell which way was up and which was down, let alone where the door was. He knew, of course he did. Sorcerers were a bigger threat to him than being exposed.

 

“We absorb it. From the blood of others. And just think of how much power your blood holds, being a warlock and all. Did you get it?” Merlin glanced up blearily to see Sigan nodding, a grin firmly on his face as he pulled out a small knife. It could only have come from the guards, Merlin realised as his eyes widened in horror. Tossing it over to Alvarr, he then pulled out another and bent down next to Merlin.

“No, no, shit, no...” Mumbling under his breath, Merlin attempted to pull himself away, but Alvarr grabbed his ankle, jerking him flat out on the floor before straddling him, pinning him still. Slowly, he leant down, applying more weight as he picked up Merlin’s arm.

“Just stay still, kid, this is going to hurt.”

“Get off me!” Merlin’s legs were kicking frantically as he tried to buck upwards, desperate to shift Alvarr’s weight. The man snarled, letting go of his arm and closing his fist around Merlin’s throat instead.

“Stop struggling, and you might live.” Merlin choked, the restriction to his air supply coupled with the drug making his vision begin to darken at the corners, but he would not stop fighting. Sigan was moving around him, and somehow, Merlin managed to get a flaying fist to catch the man on the back of his knees, causing him to drop.

“You little fucker,” he snarled, grabbing the arm and pulled it flat against the floor, holding his wrist in a vice-like grip. Alvarr reduced the pressure, sitting back slightly and watching with interest as Sigan slowly lowered the blade to Merlin’s arm.

“No! No, please! Get of me! No!” It didn’t seem to matter how much he struggled, Merlin could not force the two men to let go of him. Breathing heavily, he could only watch in growing fear as the cold steel of the blade pressed against his arm, causing him to involuntary shudder. 

“Please...” His voice was nothing more than a whisper, and Alvarr stroked his hair back mockingly.

“Don’t worry, kid. The power up you are going to give us is going to be a great help to the rebellion. We’ll be able to take down scum like Pendragon, and it will all be thanks to you. You’ll be a hero... you just won’t be around to see it. Hurry up, Sigan.”

Merlin whimpered as the blade slowly began to cut into his arm, eyes watching transfixed as a bubble of blood made its way to the surface before bursting and trickling down his arm. A few tears leaked from the corners of Merlin’s eyes as he squeezed them shut, biting his lip to stop himself from screaming. Sigan took in a sharp intake of breath, and despite not wanting too, Merlin found himself looking at the man. Gold seemed to flood his eyes as he made another cut into Merlin’s arm, and a wave of light headiness swamped Merlin. Letting out a groan, he somehow knew that the dizziness was nothing to do with the anti-magic or the blood trickling down his arm.

It was his magic escaping him.

“Leave some for the rest of us,” Alvarr commented lightly, still straddling Merlin but rocking back on his heels as he once again picked up the warlock’s other arm. He didn’t make the show of it that Sigan was, but simply brought the blade swiftly and effectively across the warlock’s arm, breathing deeply in satisfaction as the power began to flow into him.

“No...” Merlin whispered, his body no longer responding to him. He could do nothing but simply lie there, feeling as if a great weight was pressing down on him as the two sorcerers continued. The cuts were only superficial in comparison to what they could easily do, and Merlin had a horrible feeling he knew why. They were trying to make it last.

“So sweet...” Alvarr groaned, almost sounding like he was on a high as he pressed the blade once more into Merlin’s arm. Barely clinging onto consciousness, Merlin gazed at him blearily, not being able to bring his face into focus. He felt his arm being lifted higher, could feel the hot trickle of blood running down. And then he jerked involuntarily, feeling Alvarr press his lips to one of the cuts and lick.

Something about the action made something deep within Merlin roar. His vision was fading, he couldn’t move his body and Sigan was almost glowing from where he had been absorbing Merlin’s power. But Gaius had been right about Merlin being stronger than anyone he had ever seen before, and even the warlock himself had no knowledge of his true potential. As the cold sting of the blade once again pressed against his arm, something snapped.

Gold flooded his eyes and Alvarr was thrown off him with just a mere glance, hitting the wall opposite and sliding down, motionless. There was a cruel chuckle to Merlin’s left as Sigan watched the flight, before a sharp punch to the head caused Merlin’s eyes to flicker.

“Couldn’t have done it better myself.” But even despite the distraction and the new wave of pain, the gold did not fade from Merlin’s eyes. Instead, the gaze snapped onto Sigan and the man swore, trying to pull up the stolen power and turn it against his owner. The magic seemed to erupt out of the two men, colliding in the middle and throwing them both backwards. Merlin went shooting across the floor where he had been lying, crying out as his body protested the movement. Sigan had already got to his feet and was striding towards him again before Merlin had even stopped moving.

“Nice try.” Merlin groaned as Sigan dropped to his knees beside him, one hand finding his throat, the other hand pressing down on one of the cuts. Unable to stop himself, Merlin screamed.

All of the lights in the room exploded.

He heard Sigan’s sharp intake of breath, heard the man swear violently, and then suddenly, the force holding him to the ground was gone. This time, Merlin knew that it was not him that had thrown the man off, but something else.

The question was, what?

Merlin, however, didn’t stay with it for long enough to find out. He was vaguely aware of a familiar voice swearing from somewhere behind him, outside of the cage he was in and had a sense that the voice should make him worried. But he was feeling warm and sleepy now, and even the sound of the door bursting open, shots being fired and a pair of hands grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him roughly was not enough to keep him awake. 

Instead, Merlin gave into the darkness, allowing unconsciousness to sneak up and claim him and letting it take away all the pain, confusion and fear that had been his life over the last twelve hours.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good team is only as good as their leader.

The drop off had gone well, but never before had Arthur been so relieved to no longer have a sorc-warlock under his control. In a way, he thought he preferred the insults and threats that were normally being thrown his way rather than the wide-eyed innocent look that Merlin had obviously perfected. Who risked their freedom, their life in order to explain? Who didn’t take the chance to take down one of their pursuers, knowing the consequences should backup be summoned?

Arthur still found himself sitting by the cage, staring into it with his thoughts muddled and whirling in his head. He could still practically see Merlin in it, defenceless and vulnerable, the truth swirling in his eyes and begging Arthur to believe him. There was certainly nothing threatening about the way he looked, but it was just hiding how much power was truly running through his veins. He looked like he would break in the wind, yet for once, the debrief had been right. Arthur had never met anyone that strong before. They had been forced to use more than one band before, but not all five coupled with two shots of their drug. If he hadn’t been unconscious, Arthur had a feeling Merlin’s magic would have still been trying to fight them off.

“Arthur?” The rest of the group had been just as silent as him on the way back, clearly knowing their leader had his mind on other matters and wasn’t interested in trivial conversation. Behind Arthur’s back, more than one worried look had been shared. They had never seen Arthur like this before, clearly contemplating the sorcerer they had just dropped off. “Out of sight, out of mind” was Arthur’s normal approach, his mind moving forward to the next job as soon as one mission was complete. This time, however, it was clear there had been something about the kid that was making him pause. Despite his past encounter with the youth, they knew that was not it. Arthur wouldn’t let something that had happened months ago to distract him now. Whatever was going through Arthur’s mind was something new.

“We’re home, Prince.” Leon said softly. Lancelot and Gwaine had practically fallen out of the van as they both tried to get out at the same time and were already making their way into the building, heading towards the flat, a shower and a debrief. Then the rest of the evening would be theirs. It certainly beat running around the streets for half of the night whilst they tried to locate their target. Elyan had paused in the doorway, Leon standing behind him but both watching Arthur. Judging by the way the engine had fallen silent, Percival had obviously got out as well.

“Right...” Still distracted, Arthur barely even noticed his body move as he stood up, following his men even though his eyes were still staring at the cage, unable to get Merlin’s collapsed form out of his head. The guy could have killed him with barely a thought out there today, and yet he hadn’t. Was it all just a trick, sorcerers were known for being murderers, it was why Arthur had no qualms about bringing them in. Or was what Merlin had told him true, that warlock’s were indeed different?

Jumping down from the van absentmindedly, Arthur slammed it shut behind him, seeing Percival aim the key over his shoulder from where he had been walking away and press a button, the doors locking with a satisfying beep. Elyan walked off, but Leon paused as he watched Arthur run a hand through his hair.

“What is it?” He asked softly. Anything that was affecting Arthur to this extent could possibly affect them all, especially if their commander was this distracting. If Arthur shot him down, Leon would just claim that he was looking out for the rest of the team. But the truth was, he was worried. Even he had never seen Arthur look this conflicted before, an emotion that Uther had been determined to drive out of him.

“What’s a warlock?” Arthur asked bluntly, wondering if the oldest member of their team had heard about them any more than Arthur had. To say Leon looked astonished was an understatement.

“I didn’t think they existed, that it was just some sort of myth.” 

“Leon, people don’t think sorcerers exist. We know myths have more than enough potential to exist. So, what is one?”

“Well, they are supposed to be incredibly rare, and incredibly powerful.” Leon began to walk as he spoke, knowing that Arthur could stay rooted to the spot for hours if something got his attention. He personally had no desire to stand in a cold car park for most of the night whilst he explained something that didn’t exist. Despite what Arthur had said about myths, Leon didn’t believe it. Even to sorcerers, warlocks were not something they came across every day.

“You know how sorcerers absorb their power?”

“I’m not twelve any more, Leon.” Arthur sighed, sounding exasperated but giving his right hand man a small smile to show that he was still listening. Leon rolled his eyes, but refrained from commenting how much like a twelve year old Arthur sounded when he used that tone of voice.

“Just humour me.”

“Fine, they drain the blood of those with magic and it somehow gets absorbed, creating or expanding their own.”

“Warlocks have it naturally.”

“What?” Arthur almost stopped walking as he stared at the man in confusion. Why had he never heard of this before?

“Their power. They are born with it, Arthur. They don’t have to absorb it from anyone, it’s just there. Apparently, for strong ones, it never runs out either. You know how most could potentially live through a draining?”

“Of course. Their magic runs out before they have lost too much blood, especially for weak ones.”

“A warlock has no chance. Their magic constantly replenishes itself. For a powerful one, far quicker than the draining could happen. They would die of blood loss and still have enough magic left to bring down a castle.”

This time, Arthur did stop walking.

“Why have I never heard of this?” He practically yelled, ignoring the way Leon glanced around the buildings surrounding them anxiously, as if some nosy neighbour would be listening. Not that their conversation would make any sense to an eavesdropper, but it was still better to be safe than sorry. Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival had disappeared inside, but Elyan was waiting at the door, holding it open for them even as he lounged against the wall, clearly getting bored of how long it was taking. Leon grabbed Arthur’s arm, forcing him into moving again. What he was about to say next, he knew his commander wouldn’t like.

“Your father banned anyone from saying anything to you.” It was only the grip on his arm that kept Arthur moving, but even then he struggled against Leon in outrage.

“Why?” His voice had gone quiet, clearly having seen Leon check the area and realising that yelling about sorcerers and warlocks at this time of night was not the best idea. But Leon knew what that meant. Arthur using a loud voice meant he was angry. Arthur being quiet meant that he was fuming.

“Can we talk about this inside?” Leon hissed, finally reaching the door and nodding his thanks to Elyan. Shoving Arthur in first, he let his fellow comrade bring up the rear as he dragged his commander unceremoniously up the stairs. Arthur let it happen, but Leon knew by the way his shoulders were set that he was not going to let this go. Despite believing it only to be a myth, Leon couldn’t blame him. Arthur and Uther had never had the best relationship, so for the young man to hear that his father had deliberately kept something that was almost directly related to their job from him and ordered others to do the same... Leon didn’t need to ask to know why Arthur was so angry.

Finally, he managed to get the young man up to the flat, not letting go of his arm until Arthur was inside. Elyan shut the door with a snap, sliding onto the sofa and grinning as Lancelot slipped him a steaming mug. Gwaine was nowhere to be seen, but the running water gave away that he was showering. Percival was standing in the kitchen area, his own mug in his hand. Two more stood on the counter, but Arthur pulled away from Leon, whirling around to face him with sparks flying from his eyes.

“Why did he not want me to know?” He demanded, knowing that he was getting close to pulling rank. That was the last thing he wanted to do, he knew this was by no stretch of the imagination Leon’s fault. But not knowing the difference could have potentially got him killed earlier that night, despite the claims that they were just a myth.

“What did I tell you about a warlock’s power, Arthur?” Leon said softly, running a hand over his face in weariness and perching on the arm of the chair. Arthur was too worked up in order to sit down, and had taken to pacing around the flat.

“That it was natural.” Leon nodded, eyes locked on his commander’s face.

“It’s the same with witches, isn’t it?” Percival said quietly, but Arthur froze.

“They knew? They knew about the myth and I didn’t?” He wasn’t going to go into the argument of whether they were real or not just yet, he didn’t want them to all get sidetracked. Leon slowly nodded.

“It was part of basic training. The part you skipped because you already knew most of it. Your father told you that you already had the skills it taught. That was partly true, but he didn’t want you finding out the truth.”

“The truth?” Arthur stopped pacing, standing in the middle of the room and looking slightly bewildered. Understanding had leaped into Lancelot’s eyes and Elyan looked like he was beginning to comprehend what was going on in front of him.

“Their power is natural.”

“You’ve already told me that.”

“Meaning that they don’t have to hurt anyone to obtain their powers.”

“So?”

“They’re not killers, Arthur.” Leon said bluntly, and Arthur sat down suddenly, the colour draining from his face. He understood. He knew why his father hadn’t wanted him to know.

“He thought that I would doubt the evilness of magic? If I found out they weren’t all cold blooded sadistic killers, that there was even a hint that one of them could use it for good, he thought I would change my mind on everything he had ever taught me?”

“Yes.” Leon said simply, not knowing how he could soften the blow. Uther had been paranoid that Arthur would break his heart the way Morgana had. Whilst he possessed no magic himself, Arthur could have tried to understand magic more, realised that if a warlock was to exist, it would change everything he had ever been told. He would realise that his father had been lying to him when he said magic was evil. Even five minutes after hearing the truth, Arthur’s mind was already whirring. What if magic wasn’t evil, but sorcerers were? Would that mean a warlock would be different? Could Merlin have been telling the truth all along?

“Don’t go there, Arthur.” Leon continued softly, a firmness in his voice that he hadn’t needed to use since Arthur was fifteen and on a slightly rebellious track. “This was why he didn’t want you to know, he didn’t want you distracted on the job, wondering whether our targets had the potential to do good. Warlocks don’t exist, but sorcerers do. And they are all killers, it’s the only way they can get their power.”

“Don’t patronise me, Leon.” Arthur snapped, standing up and beginning to walk to his room. He knew that Leon believed what he was saying about them being myths, that wasn’t some kind of cover up, he could see in the man’s eyes that he thought it was true. But there was someone else who would know for certain. “I know what they are, most of them have tried to kill me, remember?”

“What’s going on?” Gwaine took that moment to emerge back into the lounge, a loose pair of jogging bottoms on and nothing else, his wet hair sticking up at odd angles. Arthur just stalked past him, his mind too preoccupied to even tell the man to put a shirt on. Slamming his bedroom door shut behind him, Arthur perched on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his hair. He could already understand why his father hadn’t wanted him to know, but it still hurt that the man was so worried about Arthur making his own choices rather than following the path that had been set out for him at the moment of his birth. Arthur had always been a good soldier, always followed orders to the letter. It was all he knew.

So why the hell had he even contemplated listening to Merlin, believing him when he said that he was a warlock. According to Leon, they didn’t exist. But there was something so honest, so open about Merlin that Arthur couldn’t get the words out of his head. Why was he considering listening to someone he knew nothing about, that had been listed as his enemy over the man who was like a brother to him?

Sighing, Arthur picked up his phone, quickly dialling a well-known number. He needed answers, and he needed them now. He knew that Gaius would be up, the fact that they had made a drop off at the cells was evidence enough of that. As soon as the phone connected, Arthur was speaking.

“Are they real?” 

“Hello, Arthur. Nice to hear from you too, despite the fact that it is the middle of the night.”

“Sorry, Gaius. Hi. How are you? Are they real?” There came a long suffering sigh from the other end of the phone and Arthur couldn’t help but smile slightly. Gaius had been the one thing in his life that had never changed, even despite everything else that had been going on, he was still the same old Gaius.

“I might be able to answer that if you care to tell me what you are talking about.”

“Warlocks, Gaius!” Arthur practically shouted, standing up as he did so. Whenever he was frustrated, it was almost impossible for the commander to sit still. “Is it possible for them to exist?”

“He told you?” There was a surprised note in Gaius’s voice that Arthur had rarely heard, even when he had climbed across the roofs of four buildings after being grounded just so that he could see the old man when he was nothing more than a child.

“Who?” Arthur said slowly, not being sure what Gaius was getting at.

“Merlin.”

“You know Merlin?”

“No, Arthur. I do not know Merlin. I was here when you brought him in; I saw the lengths you had to go to in order to secure him. I haven’t seen that level of security for a long, long time. No sorcerer could be that strong, not considering you’ve already managed to bring in their top players. There is no other explanation for it.”

Arthur went silent, going pale as he dropped back down to the bed, Gaius’ hidden compliment about his level of work going straight over his head for once.

“Arthur? Arthur, are you there?”

“Yeah.” Arthur said softly, his mind going into overdrive. Merlin had been telling him the truth all along. He was a warlock. His power was natural, not stolen. Meaning the chances were that he had also been telling the truth about never having hurt anyone with his magic either. And Arthur had just dumped him in the holding cells without listening to a word. Despite the fact he couldn’t deny Merlin had magic, Arthur knew he had potentially just landed an innocent in the middle of it all. He may have never had had contact with sorcerers, know nothing about the rebellion.

“Arthur?”

“Gaius, can you do me a favour? Can you... this is going to sound mad, but is there a way you can talk to him. Find out for sure?”

“Arthur, is everything okay? What brought about this conversation? I know your father...”

“Forbade anyone to tell me anything about it? So instead I find out being pinned to a wall with magic by someone that I’ve already got a band on? He didn’t even feel it, Gaius. It was like it wasn’t even there, yet one band was enough to distract Sigan for long enough for us to get the rest of the bands on him. Sigan was strong, yet this was something different...”

“Who told you the full story, Arthur? I doubt you gave Merlin the time to explain.”

“Leon.” Arthur said quietly, and he could almost picture the slow nod of Gaius’ head as the old man considering the implications of Arthur now knowing. “But he doesn’t think they are real.”

“Leon is a good man, Arthur. Trust him.”

“I do, Gaius.” Arthur glanced out of his window, standing up and crossing the room as he did so. The city looked so peaceful from up here, revealing nothing of Arthur’s chaotic world. “But I want to talk to Merlin. He could have killed me, Gaius. Yet he didn’t. I need to know why.”

This time, it was Gaius’ turn to fall silent before he sighed heavily.

“I’ll get in and check him over, it might be enough to confirm whether he is who he says he is or not. But you know I can’t get you in, Arthur. Only your father can clear people, and something tells me that you don’t want him knowing?”

For the first time since he had seen Merlin across the room in the club, Arthur grinned, a light gleaming in his eyes. “I can get in.” He said firmly, loving the idea of a challenge. Especially as that challenge would mean going against his father, the reason why this was all happening in the first place. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Snapping the phone shut, Arthur moved back across his room and flung open the door again. It was only as he did so did he realise that he had no way of being able to get past his men. Part of being a unit meant they were always stuck together at all times, ready for a case to come up.

“..Thai!”

“Chinese!” His men, it appeared, were prepared to find that excuse for him. Gwaine and Elyan were practically wrestling on the floor, the takeaway menus spread around them as the other three looked on in amusement. Percival had positioned himself to pull them apart if needed, but all were content to let them work off the adrenaline. Despite having caught their target for the night, they hadn’t had the outlet of a normal chase/fight.

“I’m going to get Indian, no arguments.” Arthur said firmly, striding past them, grabbing his car keys and heading out of the door. It wasn’t often he got to drive his own car, and it was even more irregular that he got to be by himself.

Running swiftly down to the underground car park under the flats, he caught sight of the van standing there innocently, and couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of the residents thought the strange group living on the top floor did even as he got into his own car. The thought was banished as the engine roared into life, and Arthur grinned, revving it up and practically flooring it as he swerved out of the car park. Percival was their designated driver on operations, but Arthur loved the feeling of being behind the wheel, especially pushing the speed limit. His connections and status in the army always got him off if ever someone else was to notice just how fast he was going.

Despite the fact that the compound was about half an hour away, Arthur still made it in the twenty minutes that he had promised Gaius. He switched off the lights and dropped the speed to a crawl as he came up behind the back of the building, staring at it for a long moment. This was where the next step of the operation took place once his team had dropped off the target. Arthur had only been in the buildings enough times to memorise the lay-out of the place.

Climbing out of his car, it only took Arthur a moment until he was pressed against the building, on full alert for any noise. Despite the fact that his father ran this whole operation, he knew the consequences would be no different for him than anyone else if he was caught breaking in. The small door was almost too easy to force the lock on, a simple fire escape that someone seemed to have forgotten about. Once he was in, it was easy. The oldest trick of taking a photograph of the empty corridor and sliding it over the cameras made certain that no one would seem him moving about, despite the length of time it took whilst make sure he was in their blind spot.

But Arthur had been trained for his entire life, and a few cameras were certainly not going to stop him. The building had a complicated and twisted maze of corridors, and Arthur was just beginning to think that he would never be able to find Gaius in all of this when he heard voices.

Pressing himself into the wall and keeping his breathing light and shallow, Arthur smirked as two guards walked past him, not seeing the figure down the adjacent corridor. Arthur couldn’t help but roll his eyes. His unit did all the dangerous work in bringing the targets in, and now that they were supposedly contained, the guards here were letting things slip past them. Arthur knew if it had been any of his men, they would have spotted him immediately.

But not letting himself dwell on it, he instead clicked his tongue when he saw Gaius following them. If it had been any other day, Arthur knew the old man wouldn’t have heard him, but Gaius was clearly listening out for Arthur. His eyes slid down the corridor and he nodded, before dropping everything he was carrying all over the floor.

“No, no, you go on. Clumsy me. I can find my own way back, thank you very much. It’s not like anything can happen here, you have them all nice and contained now, don’t you? Please, I insist, go on without me.” For a moment, Arthur didn’t think the guards were ever going to move on, but as their footsteps disappeared, Arthur slipped out of the shadows to help Gaius gather his fallen belongings, subtly glancing up and down the corridor for any sign of approaching danger.

“What are you doing, Arthur?” Gaius sighed, remembering to keep his voice low.

“I told you, I just want to talk to him.” Gaius gave him a look that made Arthur almost squirm, feeling like the doctor was seeing straight through him. It was only thanks to years of training that he was able to hold himself still and school his expression into one of neutrality, making sure he gave nothing away. He didn’t know what answer Gaius was searching for, but he didn’t seem to get it as he looked away again, shaking his head as he did so.

“He is a warlock, of that there is no doubt.” Arthur felt his heart speed up considerably at that knowledge. In one evening, he had gone from not knowing they exist to having one in front of him. “I know your team is good, but to bring down a warlock is something else entirely, you should be proud of them.”

“I am,” Arthur said softly with a smile, straightening up and offering Gaius his hand. “Can I get to h...” Arthur broke off, frowning. He didn’t so much as give Gaius a heads up before he pushed the old man against the wall, covering him with his own body as he stared down a darkened corridor, his heart in his mouth. Someone was coming, and judging by the fact that he could hear a muffled and whispered conversation, it was more than one person. Gaius’ sharp intake of breath had Arthur calculating options, wondering how he could get Gaius out without being seen. But then the figures came into view.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He hissed, stepping away from the doctor and glaring at the rest of his unit. They were all here, Gwaine looking smug and Leon looking slightly sheepish.

“You always used getting an Indian as an excuse to sneak out from the barracks. And considering the conversation we had earlier, we knew this would be where you go.”

“A good team indeed,” Gaius chuckled softly in Arthur’s ear, patting the young man on the shoulder as he stepped away from the wall. 

“Go home!” Arthur practically snarled, inwardly cursing himself for knowing that he would never be able to slip past them unnoticed. That was the one drawback of constantly being together, they knew when he was lying as much as he knew when they weren’t telling him the truth.

“And miss breaking a sorcerer out?” Arthur stared at Gwaine in disbelief even as Leon cuffed him over the head.

“What the fuck makes you think that is what I’m doing here?”

“Well, you’re not very well going to just have a conversation and walk off whistling, are you? If you thought that was the case, you wouldn’t have come.”

“Gwaine, you are seriously...” Just as Arthur was about to reprimand his soldier for overstepping the line, there came a noise that stopped any other attempt at communicating.

A high scream.

“The boy.” Gaius gasped, turning pale as he turned to face the direction of the holding cells. “They’ve left him restrained; he’s in with Alvarr and Sigan.”

“What?” Arthur yelled, forgetting to keep his voice down. He was moving almost before he realised it. “Sigan’s power hungry, they’ll tear him apart if they get the slightest inclination of who he is. Hell, they’ll tear him apart just because they can.”

“What do you want us to do?” Arthur breathed a sigh at having Lancelot in his team. The man hadn’t even blinked at what Arthur had been heading towards with his words, that their commander was preparing to break every rule that had ever defined their team. Arthur shot him a glance.

“Maybe Gwaine was right. But I can’t ask you to do this.”

“You don’t have to ask, Prince.” Leon said firmly, the other men nodding their heads in agreement. Arthur immediately snapped back into military mode.

“Knight Five, get Gaius to the control room and get the van as close as you can to the door you came in.” Percival nodded, taking Gaius gently by the arm and beginning to lead him away. Arthur had no doubts about how the rest of his unit had travelled here, and was now grateful they did.

“Knights 2 and 4, see what you can do about their security system, we are going to have to move fast.” Lancelot’s face lit up at the prospect of hacking into a high profile security system and he and Elyan immediately sprinted in the only direction that seemed logical for the controls to be.

“And us?” 

“You’re with me.” Arthur responded shortly to Gwaine’s question, catching the gun Leon threw to him without even thinking about it. He set off at a run towards where he knew the holding cells to be, vaguely aware of Leon and Gwaine on his heels. The door leading to the cells was locked, but one shot from his gun and his foot colliding with it was enough to grant Arthur access.

Just as they entered the room, all of the lights went out in one mass explosion.

“Shit.” Gwaine muttered from somewhere behind him, but ever the prepared one, Leon quickly snapped a couple of glow sticks, giving them enough light to work by but not enough to draw attention to the area. The three kept forward, Arthur not being sure if he was imagining the sobbing noise he could hear from in front of him. The first few cells were empty, but by the hum of anti-magic lighting up the bars on the third, Arthur knew that was where the prisoners were.

“Fuck.” There was no other word for it as he took in the sight in front of him. Alvarr was sprawled against the opposite wall, hands stained with blood but unconscious. But it was what was just the other side of the bars that Arthur’s mouth going dry. He knew how sorcerer’s obtained their power, but to see it happening was something else entirely. Merlin had fallen still, obviously covered in his own blood even from the angle Arthur was looking at him from. Without thinking what he was doing, Arthur lifted his gun and fired.

The dart caught Sigan in the shoulder, throwing him backwards off the warlock.

“Knight 3, take care of him. Knight 1, make sure our way is clear.” Using his gun once more, Arthur forced the lock of the cell and hurried in. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gwaine deliver a sharp kick to Sigan’s head, immediately knocking him out. Arthur couldn’t say anything, it had certainly been effective in neutralising what could have potentially been a threat. With the door open, the anti-magic on the bars wasn’t as effective.

“Merlin!” Dropping to his knees, Arthur grabbed the youth by the shoulders, giving him a fierce shake as he tried to get the boy to focus on him. Merlin’s head simply flopped though, and Arthur growled in anger. He had put him in here, defenceless, against two murderous lunatics. Standing up, he grabbed Merlin’s arm and in one movement, he swung the teenager up over his shoulder, striding for the door. Gwaine covered him until they were out and the door slammed shut once again.

“We need to move!” Leon’s call made Arthur quicken his pace, his eyes drawn by the pulsing band still around Merlin’s hanging ankle. They would have to deal with that later, for now they just had to get out of here. Arthur knew the cells were far from the control centre, the men didn’t like being that close to the prisoners. Hopefully it would have meant they didn’t hear the gun shots, and the Round Table would be able to make a clean getaway, Merlin in tow.

It seemed luck was on their side as they made it back to the fire escape without any hint of pursuit, Lancelot and Elyan hurrying over as they did so. No doubt they had been monitoring the cameras from wherever they had been and knew that it was time to make their escape. As soon as they stepped outside, the van came skidding to a stop next to them, Percival throwing open his door so that he could communicate with the rest of the team. Arthur glanced around him, calculating even as he felt Merlin’s blood drip onto his shirt. The boy whimpered slightly, and Arthur came to a decision.

“Knight 4, take the van. Knight 5, we need you in the back with your first aid kit.” Percival nodded, jumping out and letting Elyan take his place. “Knight 3, take my car back.” Arthur tried to deny the flash of worry that shot through him at the grin on Gwaine’s face even as he clumsily shifted Merlin’s weight in order to throw the soldier the keys. The car was gone with a roar of the engine and a squeal of tyres that made Arthur flinch. He knew Gwaine had done that on purpose.

“Okay, let’s go.” Allowing Leon to help him get Merlin into the back of the van, Arthur stepped back as Percival came forward for a better look. The van started moving, but soon paused again.

“Where am I going?” Elyan asked, twisting in his seat. Arthur bit his lip. Where would be safe? Not only for Merlin, but for them as well, for despite everything, Arthur knew the boy had to be watched. Only one place came to mind.

“Back to the flat.”

If anyone else was shocked, they hid it well.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the lion's den....

Lancelot was sitting on the small bench in the back of the van, his eyes fixed on the scene in front of him. Percival was dressing the wounds on one of Merlin’s arms, whilst Leon sat the other side and applied pressure to the other arm whilst waiting for his friend to finish. Arthur sat in between them, Merlin’s head on his lap and staring into space. It was clear to anyone who knew him (and these men did so extremely well) that he was taken aback by what they had seen. They had all witnessed a sorcerer attacking an innocent, but none of them had ever seen them turn on one of their own. Considering everything else he had discovered that evening, Arthur suddenly wasn’t so sure about what it was they were doing any more, a doubt he had never even contemplated before.

Lancelot was sure his leader didn’t even notice the way his fingers were combing through Merlin’s hair.

“We have to get these off...” Leon muttered, startling Arthur out of his musings as he motioned towards Merlin’s ankles and the pulsing bands. Percival nodded his agreement, his hand drifting down Merlin’s leg.

“Don’t!” Arthur suddenly snapped, making him freeze. The pair exchanged worried glances before Leon spoke again.

“Arthur, we can’t break him out and then leave his magic contained, that’s not fair. If he tries anything, he’ll be in the flat with all of us; we’ll be able to take him down, no problem. But none of us know what those bands feel like to him; it could hurt more than the cu...” Leon’s voice trailed off at the look Arthur was giving him, his gaze cold and slightly angry.

“Do you think I am sadistic, Knight 1?”

“Of course not, Sir, I just...”

“Oh just shut up and let me explain.” Both the professionalism and the coolness disappeared from Arthur’s voice as he let his head rest back on the side of the van. The movement was almost soothing, he had been moving from place to place since before he could remember. He knew that given the chance, he would fall asleep right where he was sitting. It had to be late, or early depending on what way you looked at it. Three AM if not later. The club suddenly seemed hours ago, and Arthur’s mind was reeling. He was exhausted. Luckily, Leon seemed to see it in his eyes and the hint of accusation in his own expression fell away.

“Sorry.”

“He’s still bleeding, isn’t he?”

“Yes.” Percival was never one to say much, and was just letting the confrontation happen around him as he went back to cleaning the cuts.

“The cuts were caused to force his magic out. His attacker might not be here, but whilst he is still bleeding, potentially his magic is still escaping. If the bands stay on and suppress his magic, something that will be easier now that he is unconscious, it will stop so much of it escaping.”

“Well, I never thought I would hear that.” Lancelot’s soft voice cut through Leon’s stunned silence, and Arthur glanced up at him, confused as to what the man meant.

“You’re actually trying to let a sorcerer keep as much of their magic as you can.”

“Oh fuck off.” Arthur moaned, rolling his eyes. He didn’t say anything else, just watched his men work as they tried to keep Merlin from any long term harm. He couldn’t have asked for a better team. They took the kid out on his command, not stopping to think about what they were doing. And now they were trying to help him, again without questioning a thing. Who else would have such a strong sense of loyalty? He knew damn well that it wouldn’t be found anywhere else in the army, not to this extent.

“We’re home.” Elyan’s quiet voice seemed to echo mysteriously around the back of the van as the men inside realised what that could mean. They had broken Merlin out; they had potentially got away with it. But now they had an unconscious and magical teenager to deal with who, if he had any sense, would try and get as far away from them as possible. Looks where shared around the van, all of them trying to work out what to do.

When the door slid open and Gwaine jumped in, Arthur knew they were waiting for him to make a decision. He wasn’t just their leader in this instance; it was because of him that this was happening. They knew that it had been his choice to get Merlin out, now it was his decision to decide what to do next. Arthur thought for a moment, before having an idea.

“We do it like the pickup. Leon and Elyan, I want you going in first. Don’t make too much noise, we might escape notice. Gwaine and Lancelot, take the rear, same brief. Stumble around, act it up if you think we are being watched, but keep it quiet otherwise. Percival, help me with the kid.”

“What about his arms?” Leon questioned, and Arthur cursed. The bandages were obvious, if they were to bump into anyone, it would be obvious the youth was hurt. Making up his mind, Arthur shrugged off his jacket and awkwardly navigated Merlin into it. It practically drowned the youth, and drove home for all of those involved just how young the boy still was. Far too young to be caught up in all of this.

“Move out.” Arthur ordered, Gwaine jumping out of the van again in order to let Leon and Elyan through first. Arthur knew that Leon in particular would make sure the route was clear. He wouldn’t draw attention to them, and it was just one of the reasons why Arthur trusted the man with more than his life. Percival slid out next, and reversing his earlier actions, Arthur passed Merlin out to him before jumping down after them. He tossed Lancelot the keys, trusting the man to lock up properly, before taking one of Merlin’s injured arms and gently draping it over his shoulder.

“Ready?” 

Percival shot him an easy grin, the calmness emitting from the man helping soothe Arthur’s own flighty nerves. He had never felt like this before, everything they had done giving him a bigger adrenaline rush than he ever thought possible. But he did know why. For the first time in his life, he had deliberately gone against orders.

“If you are.” 

Arthur gave a curt nod and the pair of them began walking towards the side door that had granted them access of to the building hours before, when Arthur believed his team had completed their job. It took some navigating to get the three of them through the door, trying desperately to make it look like Merlin was not in the state he was, but they got there eventually.

“Arthur.” Hearing the hiss, Arthur quickly craned his head up, seeing Leon peering over the stairs at him even as Gwaine and Lancelot could be heard approaching from behind them.

“It’s all clear. Knight 4 has gone ahead to the next floor, we’ll relay up the stairs and keep a lookout, but I don’t think anyone is around.” Arthur nodded his understanding, slipping out from under Merlin’s arm even as Percival adjusted his grip. The giant of a man swung the teenager over his shoulder with ease, and the pair of them ran swiftly up the stairs.

They were in luck, there was indeed no one around. Arthur could feel his heart pounding hard as he fumbled with the lock on the flat door, standing back to let Percival enter first. Not that they ever really saw anyone else in their building, their job meant they kept themselves to themselves. But he didn’t want anyone to know Merlin was here.

He wasn’t foolish, he knew one of their superior officers would turn up at some point. If nothing else, it would be a warning. They had been the ones to bring the warlock in; they could potentially be a target if he was out for revenge. But Arthur knew that no one else knew the boy had been delivered yet, especially with it happening in the middle of the night. They were the only ones who knew where he had been. He just hoped that leaving both Sigan and Alvarr unconscious would be enough to make them think it was just an escape. They had been the ones to prepare the debrief saying that he was powerful, hopefully Arthur could play on that and prove that they had just underestimated the warlock.

That was something else the commander was still trying to get his head around. Five hours ago, he had never even heard of a warlock, and now he was potentially harbouring one. He had seen the look in Gaius’ eye when he had informed the young officer about the true power of their prisoner, knew that the old man was telling the truth. Then there was the fact that Alvarr had been unconscious before they had arrived. He knew Sigan was deadly, but somehow, Arthur knew it wasn’t the sorcerer who had attacked his fellow cellmate. Why wait until then if that had been the case? He knew Merlin had somehow done it, meaning even with anti-magic bands still on and being locked in a cell designed to hold people like him, he had called upon his powers.

Whoever this kid was, he was powerful.

“Arthur?” The blond didn’t realise he had been lost in thought until Gwaine not so subtly nudged him. The door shut with a sharp snap as Lancelot made his way into the room. The next part of their mission had gone just as smoothly as the first. Arthur refused to think about what happened when their luck ran out.

“Put him in my room.”

“Arthur...” Leon began, disapproval evident in his voice as he frowned at his commander. Arthur rolled his eyes, knowing that Leon was thinking about the fact that Arthur had met Merlin before, and precisely what that meeting had entailed.

“It’s the only room with a door that shuts properly. What do you want to do, leave him in here so the first person that walks through the door sees him?”

“Your room has windows though...”

“We’re five floors high, Leon.” Arthur’s tone put an end to the argument. Percival had been standing awkwardly in between the two of them, clearly not knowing what to do. This whole situation was surreal; Arthur couldn’t fault him for hesitating. Leon took a small step backwards, dropping his eyes.

“Yes, Prince.” Everything in his posture and tone of voice screamed that he was submitting, and Arthur sighed. He didn’t want his oldest friend to feel like he was pulling rank on this one. He knew that he would need his whole team united if they were going to find a way to get away with what they had done. They were unstoppable as a unit, but Arthur knew all it took was for one of them to start doubting and their team would fall apart. Gwaine had sprawled himself across the sofa, but his eyes were alert, clearly listening hard to the conversation happening in front of him. Lancelot and Elyan were hovering uncertainly, again listening hard but not being sure what to do.

“I need you on this.” Arthur said softly, stepping towards Leon and letting his hand rest on the man’s shoulder. “I know this isn’t like anything we’ve ever done before, but when has that ever stopped us? He’s a good kid, Leon. Please, trust me on this. Gaius told me things, things I won’t go into now, but enough to make me know that we had it wrong about this one. If we let him just go, they’ll catch him again in moments and we’ll be known for failing. We dumped this on him, it’s up to us to get him out again.”

Leon nodded, smiling softly in a way that Arthur knew meant he was backing down. Percival took another step forward, but this time, it was Gwaine’s voice that called him back.

“Not that I’m doubting you, mate...” He began, making Arthur roll his eyes. Gwaine never had mastered the way to actually sound convincing when he said something like that. “But why are you doing this? You know magic is evil, you’ve seen it more than the rest of us put together. Or have you forgotten Morgana?”

Arthur bristled, but Gwaine pressed on.

“What made you change your mind? Are you saying he is a good kid, or a good fuck?”

“Gwaine!” Lancelot’s shocked voice rang through the room, but Gwaine was straightening up, his posture turning defensive.

“No, hear me out. You’ve never before done anything like this, never even had doubts about the slime-balls we took out. But suddenly you want to be the knight in shining armour for this kid? The same kid, might I add, we’ve only just found out that you screwed?”

“It was a drunken mistake!” Arthur responded heatedly, knowing that he had to justify what was going on. Too many times he asked them to trust him, put their lives on the line without knowing what the outcome was going to be. This time, he had brought the problem straight back to their home.

“So you don’t feel anything for him?”

“No!”

“Then why...”

“He’s a warlock.” Arthur blurted out, stunning Gwaine into silence. He could almost feel the looks going around his men as he closed his eyes with a groan. This was not how he had wanted this conversation to go, but he knew that if he didn’t get them on his side now, he was going to be fighting this battle on his own. Especially if Merlin had the same flippant attitude of before when he woke up. That would be a sure way to make Gwaine bristle.

“Arthur...we spoke about this... they don’t exist.” Leon’s voice was quiet and hesitant, and Arthur could almost see the man kicking himself for telling his commander about them earlier.

“Talk to Gaius. They do, they’re just rare. And this kid is one of them. Why else do you think Alvarr and Sigan turned on him and not on each other?”

“Because they’re creeps?” Gwaine muttered, but the fight was gone from his voice as he stared at the teenager draped over his friend’s shoulder. There was something innocent looking about him, something that seemed to show how he had the power to bring the world to its knees, but yet wouldn’t hurt a fly. Arthur caught his rebellious soldier’s eye for a long moment before Gwaine dropped his gaze and nodded. He had accepted the situation.

“Do any of the rest of you want to say anything?” Arthur asked quietly, running a hand through his hair, feeling exhausted. “I need to know where you stand with this. Any doubts, any thoughts like the ones Gwaine was having, say them now. I need to know you are with me.”

There was a long moment of silence as Lancelot and Elyan looked at each other before glancing at Percival. He already knew that Leon and Gwaine were behind him, now it was time to see what the rest of them did.

“We’re with you, Arthur.” Even though it was only Lancelot who spoke, Arthur knew without having to be asked that he was speaking for all of them. Overcome slightly with the loyalty they were showing him, the blond nodded curtly and gestured for Percival to take Merlin into his room. He knew they knew him well enough to know that it was not a dismissal, just Arthur not being able to express what was going through his mind. It was not often the Round Table needed words to be able to communicate.

Arthur followed Percival through to the room, leaning against the wall as he watched the man lower the teenager onto the bed. Wrapped in Arthur’s jacket and dwarfed by Percival’s size, he looked so young with his pale face. With his eyes still shut, the emotions that had been flickering passionately in his eyes when he had tried to get Arthur to understand who he was were no longer visible. He just looked like someone who had been swept up something too big for him.

“Leave us.”

“But Arthur...”

“Percival.” There was a final note in Arthur’s voice that made the other man back down. He moved to the door, taking one long look into the room as he left, but making sure he shut the door on the way out. As soon as the click of the wood catching into place gave Arthur the knowledge that he was on his own, he sank onto the bed. Sitting on the edge next to Merlin’s feet, he blew out a long breath. His elbows were resting on his knees, his fingers interlocked behind his neck as his mind raced.

What the hell was he doing?

He had just convinced his men to help him hide a warlock. Someone who was naturally so much more powerful than any other sorcerer they had ever gone against and could theoretically hold them responsible for destroying his carefree life. For Arthur knew they would never be able to let Merlin return to the life he had been living, not now that he had turned up on their radar. The boy would have to go into hiding, get away from Camelot if he could. Providing, of course, he left the Round Table alive long enough for them to be able to explain that to him.

“A’tur?” The soft, croaking voice made Arthur’s head jerk up violently, cracking his neck as he turned. Merlin was blinking back at him, confusion swimming in his blue eyes. Whatever Percival had given him for the pain was clearly working, especially as Merlin seemed totally disorientated.

“Whe’m I?” He murmured, shifting slightly and glancing down at himself. A tiny smile made its way onto his face as he saw that he was wearing Arthur’s jacket, a look that almost resembled fondness making its way onto his face. “This s’your bed....forgot how comfy it was...”

Even as Merlin’s voice became more lucid, Arthur flushed. It seemed bringing Merlin back here again was just going to drag to the surface the last time the boy had been here. It showed how bad Arthur had been that night considering he had taken advantage of the empty flat rather than taking Merlin somewhere else where the boy would never be able to trace him again. It had been a rough month, that was the only thing he could say in his defence. He didn’t have time to say anything, however, before Merlin’s mind obviously caught up with him. He jerked upright, making to scramble off the bed if it wasn’t for Arthur leaning over and grabbing his arm. He tried to aim for a part where he believed there would be no bandages, but Merlin still winced with a cry of pain.

“Let me go!” He yelled, struggling against Arthur’s grip and looking for the entire world like he was trying not to cry. The overconfident teenager from before had gone, leaving a frightened youth in its wake. Arthur couldn’t help but feel that that was somehow his fault.

“Stay still, Merlin, let me explain.”

“No! NO! I won’t let you keep me here, you can’t do this! I’ll...I’ll call the police, I’ll call the army...”

“Who would lock you up straight back where you were and this time, we wouldn’t be able to break you out.” Merlin froze, staring at Arthur with wide eyes.

“What?”

“Merlin, Gaius told me how you were different. We were wrong leaving you there, so we came to get you. Unfortunately we weren’t quick enough. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Merlin stopped struggling, his voice a whisper for a moment before he started shouting again. “Sorry?! They nearly killed me, you complete and utter prat! And if they had done, then you would have been dead before you could have blinked. Do you know how much power I could have given them...”

“I know, I...”

“So don’t you dare say that you are sorry and act like you waltzed in a rescued me like a fucking damsel in distress! You don’t get to play Prince Charming, Arthur, you’re the one who put me there in the first place because you didn’t listen!”

“Merlin, please...” The warlock, however, was not going to listen to Arthur. He pulled frantically against the grip, and not wanting to hurt him, Arthur let it relax slightly. Merlin didn’t hesitate, but instead used his free hand to punch the commander as hard as he could. For someone so skinny, Arthur was surprised when he went flying backwards off the bed, hitting the wall and sliding down it, breathless. It was only then he saw the gold in Merlin’s eyes, and knew the bands around his ankles were barely doing anything at all at holding his power back. Whoever, whatever Merlin was, it was certainly far more powerful than Arthur had ever seen.

For a moment, the room seemed to swim slightly. Arthur was only vaguely aware of Merlin climbing off the bed, having to use the wall to steady himself as he tried to make his way over to the door. But judging by the swaying he seemed to be doing, he wasn’t having much luck. Gritting his teeth, Arthur pulled himself to his feet, not wanting to admit that he had to rely on the wall almost as much as the teenager. Merlin saw the movement and turned his head towards where the commander was staggering towards him, his eyes going wide.

“No! No, let me go, please!” He dove for the door, and Arthur knew if he made it into the room beyond, someone would get hurt. Merlin was lashing out, and his men were trained to deal with threats like that. The warlock wouldn’t stand a chance, and Arthur didn’t particularly want Percival to have spent all that time patching him up only to have to do it again.

Knowing he didn’t have time to simply walk across the room, Arthur threw himself forward. Merlin lunged for the door at the same time, his hands just brushing the handle even as Arthur caught him around the knees. The pair fell in a tangle of limbs and a whimper of pain from Merlin as they crashed down onto the floor.

“Arthur?”

“Prince?”

“Arthur!” Hearing the concerned voices of his men, Arthur straddled Merlin, holding him down as firmly as he could considering the younger man was bucking against him.

“You can’t keep me here!” 

“Nor do we plan too. But you can’t go back out there, either.” Ignoring the way Merlin’s gasps sounded suspiciously like a plea, Arthur wrapped his hands around both of the warlock’s wrists firmly, being mindful of the cuts.

“I was fine until you came along!” Merlin was struggling furiously as Arthur began to pull them both to their feet, making sure they were clear of the door as it began to open. Gwaine practically fell into the room, gun in his hand. Arthur immediately twisted his body so that whilst he was still holding Merlin firmly, the soldier couldn’t get a shot on him.

“Stand down, Knight 3. Situation under control.”

“Under control, my arse. What happened?” Arthur didn’t have the chance to respond. Desperate to get away from him, Merlin did the only thing he could think of. He bit Arthur, hard.

The commander let go with a growl, clutching his hand to him even as Merlin moved past. Percival blocked the door with ease and Arthur reached out, grabbing him once more. This time, he held Merlin in a headlock, ignoring the struggles.

“Get me some cuffs.”

“NO! You’re no different to them! Let go of me, now! Arthur, let me go!” Arthur shut his eyes with a groan, huffing a deep breath as he pulled Merlin back over to the bed. Leon stepped forward, handing him a pair of handcuffs and watching as Arthur quickly pushed Merlin onto his stomach on the bed. Without hesitating, he knelt over him, his knees pressing into Merlin’s sides as he drew his arms behind him, cuffing his wrists together. The fight seemed to go out of Merlin at the feeling of the cold metal.

Arthur knew why. The bands were not the only things used to secure a sorcerer. There were old runes on the cuffs, something that he had been told turned a sorcerer’s power in on themselves. Considering the lack of an effect the bands had had, Arthur wasn’t sure the handcuffs would do anything either, but as Merlin slumped, he knew that his fears were unfounded. Maybe it was something to do with the way they were made? The bands were man-made, technology using what understanding they had on magic to try and stop a sorcerer using it. The cuffs, however, were magical themselves. The army had obtained them once they had driven out a Druid camp on the outskirts of town. It was amazing how much of a hypocrite Uther could be. Anything magical was to be destroyed...unless it could help them.

The unit weren’t even supposed to have the handcuffs, Arthur had stolen them a few years ago, and as of yet, no one had missed them. But when he had demanded the restraints, Leon had known precisely which ones he had meant. Now he was glad he had taken them. They seemed to be the only thing that had made Merlin stop fighting.

“A second pair.” Arthur ordered, and Elyan silently handed them over. The atmosphere in the room had changed the second it was obvious that Merlin was not going to stay here on his own accord. Arthur ignored his men as he used the second pair to cuff Merlin to the bed, locking one cuff around the ones around his wrists and the second to the headboard. He pulled Merlin upright, leaning him back on the wall and trying to pretend he couldn’t see Merlin’s hands twisting, trying to free himself. The boy automatically folded his legs up under him as he tried to find a position that would give him some leverage over the restraints.

“No one is to release him without my permission.” The note in his voice had once again become that of a commander, and the men dutifully nodded. They knew there would be hell to pay if they were to go against Arthur now, especially considering the way his eyes seemed to glint.

“How did he know your name?” Leon asked quietly, and for a moment, Arthur froze.

“You shouted it, you idiot.” Merlin mumbled, scowling. Inwardly, Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, wondering if Merlin knew how much trouble the commander would be in if they had revealed that Merlin had known Arthur’s name before his men had shouted for him in concern. Leon blinked before flushing slightly, realising that he might have possibly be reading into something too much. Arthur couldn’t meet his eye, knowing the man who had practically raised him would be able to see the truth shining there.

“We’re going to get some sleep.” Lancelot suddenly announced, grabbing Gwaine by the arm and pulling him from the room, taking Elyan on the way. Percival glanced at Merlin, and Arthur knew he was assessing whether any of the wounds would have been aggravated by the fight before he too sighed and left.

“You should try and do the same, Arthur.” Leon said softly, giving his commander’s shoulder a squeeze before walking out of the room, snapping it shut behind him. Arthur snorted slightly, not sure how he should feel that his men just knew that he would stay in here, making sure their “prisoner” went nowhere, despite the fact that Merlin was tied to the bed.

“They really care about you.” Merlin said softly, almost sounding surprised. Arthur merely shrugged, moving the other side of the room and ripping his shirt off over his head. If he felt Merlin’s gaze on him, he said nothing, instead pulling a loser, more comfortable one on instead. He was just going to have to stay in his trousers, there was no way he was changing into something more comfortable with Merlin watching him. Sitting on the floor, he leant back against the wall, knees at shoulder width and drawn up to his chest, his arms dangling between them as his eyes remained locked on Merlin.

The teenager had looked away, twisting himself in order to try and get comfortable. He eventually ended up curled on his side, but Arthur only had to watch him for a few moments to realise he was shivering. Whether it was through being cold or just events catching up with him, the commander had no idea, but rolling his eyes, he stood back up again. There was no way Merlin could do anything to get himself warm, not with his hands tied behind him. Without saying a word, Arthur folded up the end of the duvet and tucked it around him before going to sit back down again.

“Why are you doing this?” Unlike the fight from before, Merlin’s voice sounded uncertain and for the first time since Arthur had met him, scared. He genuinely sounded like he didn’t know what was going on.

“I’m trying to save your life.”

“But...”

“Merlin, for a split second when you woke up, you were pleased to see me. On some level, you trusted me. Trust me now, I’m trying to help you. Now shut up and sleep.”

To his utmost surprise, Merlin did as Arthur asked, leaving a commander sitting on his own floor with thoughts that were bouncing around his mind painfully. What on earth was he supposed to do now?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s the matter, prince? Scared that you won’t be able to resist me? You haven’t been able to so far, have you? How do you know that it wasn’t some spell that had you running back to rescue me?”

Arthur was still sitting on the floor in the same spot even though it was some ridiculous time in the night. He knew that he should probably try and get some rest like Leon had suggested, none of them knew what the next few days would bring or if they would get another chance. But he couldn’t switch off, his gaze instead fixed on the young man chained to his bed. What was it about Merlin that meant Arthur couldn’t keep his eyes off him? It had been like that since he had first seen him all those months ago, why his subsequent actions were not coming back to haunt him. It explained why his “knights” were so shocked at his behaviour. Not necessarily what he had done, but the fact that it was Arthur doing it. None of them had ever seen Arthur let his guard down before, let alone take a complete stranger to bed without confirming that there would be no complications.

Merlin was a complication alright. Since the file had been placed in Arthur’s hands and he saw the carefree youth staring back out at him, Arthur’s head had been a mess. Initially, he hadn’t wanted to go after Merlin, remembering how innocent the boy had been. And when they had, everything Arthur thought he knew had been thrown out. Everything Uther had ever taught him, ever made him believe was now in question, all because of this boy. Sighing, Arthur let his head rest back on the wall, wondering what he was supposed to do now. He couldn’t put his team into more danger – from either their superiors or Merlin. But right now, he wasn’t quite sure which would be considered the more dangerous of the two.

Merlin seemed to answer that question for him. Even as Arthur stared with unseeing eyes at the opposite wall, a small whimper drew his attention. For a moment, Arthur simply blinked, sucking in a deep breath as he sat up straighter, not being sure whether he was hearing things or not. But when the noise sounded again, his eyes were involuntary drawn to the bed. Merlin was shaking, Arthur could see that even through the duvet and his own jacket. The teenager’s face was turned towards him, and Arthur saw his brow crumple as his eyes screwed up, another whimper leaving him. Arthur let out a huff of air as he climbed to his feet. He wasn’t exactly cut out for looking after people, his job tended to mean the opposite. Of course, it normally helped that they were trying to kill him in the process, meaning Arthur didn’t stop to think about what he was doing, he just reacted in order to keep not only himself, but his team alive.

Feeling completely and utterly out of his depth, Arthur hitched himself onto the bed, watching Merlin sleep for a few moments. When he cried out softly again, the commander leant forward, automatically combing his fingers through Merlin’s hair, pushing it back from his face before he caught himself and stilled his hand.

“Merlin? Wake up, you’re having a nightmare.” The young man didn’t respond, but just twisted away again, another moan leaving him. Hearing a clanking noise, Arthur bit his lip as he stared down at the cuffs holding Merlin to the bed. He knew he couldn’t release him, knew that Merlin would try and escape quicker than Arthur could blink. But it was apparent that he was hurting himself like this as he strained against his bonds in his sleep, physically trying to get away from whatever it was that was haunting his mind.

Coming to a decision, Arthur reached out. Unlocking the cuffs that bound Merlin to the bed, but making sure his hands stayed tied, Arthur only just moved in time. Some part of Merlin’s subconscious seemed to realise that he had more movement, and he immediately twisted on the bed, kicking out slightly as he struggled.

“Merlin? Come on, wake up, you idiot.” Letting his hand rest on Merlin’s shoulder, Arthur jerked back as the teenager lashed out, his foot colliding with Arthur’s shin even as a deep frown took over his face. Arthur knew he had to wake the young man up somehow, talking to him wasn’t enough. Jerking Merlin’s legs down so that they were flat, pulling away the duvet at the same time, he quickly straddled him. Cupping Merlin’s face with one hand, Arthur shook him with the other.

“Merlin!” The boy’s eyes flew open with a startled gasp, burning gold. Arthur scrambled backwards, but nothing happened apart from Merlin bucking slightly now the weight was gone. 

“Stop!” Arthur called commandingly. He knew what was happening. Merlin’s dream was forcing him to use magic in an attempt to protect himself, but the cuffs were doing what the bands could not and keeping it in. Luckily, there was something about Arthur when he used that tone of voice that just demanded that people listen to him, and Merlin took a few shaky breaths, his eyes fading softly back to blue as his gaze focused on the commander.

“Lemme go...” Merlin mumbled, and Arthur took the risk of moving further back up the bed. Now that Merlin had movement back, Arthur wasn’t quite sure what the warlock was going to do, He might not be able to use magic, but he could still attempt to run.

“You know I can’t do that, Merlin.”

“No, no, please, you have to...” Merlin gasped, his eyes filling with tears as he tried to roll away from Arthur. The commander couldn’t blame him, he was young and had been through a hell of a night. Whilst the Round Table would keep him safe, Merlin had not yet accepted that. They were still the enemy to him, and Arthur knew they hadn’t given him enough reason to think otherwise. At the same time, he couldn’t just unlock the cuffs, not with Merlin still fighting.

“Merlin...”

“No! Let me go!” Arthur glanced at the door, but whilst Merlin was yelling, his men were either ignoring them or were too deeply asleep to hear. The commander knew which was the most likely. Coming to a decision, he moved closer, wrapping an arm around Merlin’s shoulders. The youth bucked against him, but Arthur held fast, pulling Merlin over until the younger man was practically collapsed on him, head leaning on Arthur’s chest. The commander could feel him struggling, wriggling to try and get free, but Arthur held him still. After a moment, the fight seemed to leave him and Merlin slumped.

“What happened to the cocky brat outside the club?” Arthur murmured, feeling the warlock trembling and the tears sliding down his cheeks. Merlin gave a weak laugh.

“He ran into his nightmare.”

“Us?” To Arthur’s surprise, he felt Merlin’s head shake.

“Them.” The blond didn’t need to ask. Alvarr and Sigan. A warlock would have been the biggest prize for sorcerers, and they had all been locked in the same cell together. Arthur felt the urge to apologise again, but forced it down. He was just following orders, he had been dealing with a potential threat who he then tried to help when he realised they were perhaps wrong.

“They can’t hurt you here.”

“I know. But you can.”

“Merlin... I know you have no reason to trust us, but no one will hurt you here. Believe it or not, we’re trying to help.”

“We? Or you? Because let’s face it, Arthur, we were fucking amazing together. Want some more, do you? Is that why you are keeping me here, all locked up?” Merlin was immediately struggling again, trying to move away from Arthur but finding it a bit of a challenge considering his hands were still bound behind his back.

“Stop...”

“Or what? You just said that you wouldn’t hurt me. Want to share me around with your men, your ultimate prize, the little warlock, is that it?

Arthur shoved Merlin away from him, climbing off the bed and not particularly caring that the boy fell to one side, not able to push himself back up again. Arthur knew he had questioned why Merlin had suddenly let the vulnerable side of himself be seen, but that didn’t mean he wanted a return to the arrogant, cocky youth who was just trying to hide how out of his depth he was. A vulnerable Merlin Arthur could reason with. This one.... he had no response that wouldn’t fuel the fire.

Merlin rolled onto his back, his bound hands pinned beneath him as he glared at Arthur. But the commander wasn’t fooled; he could see the fear flickering in the deep pools of his oceanic eyes. Merlin was terrified, and he was just trying to cover it up. The commander had to give him some credit, he was doing well.

“What’s the matter, prince? Scared that you won’t be able to resist me? You haven’t been able to so far, have you? How do you know that it wasn’t some spell that had you running back to rescue me?”

“I know you.”

“Do you?” Merlin began laughing, but Arthur could hear the almost hysterical note in it. There was movement from the other room, and Arthur knew that at least one of his men was reacting to the disturbance. He had a feeling they would have been awake for the entire thing, but was waiting to see how he handled it before interfering. 

“How can you even say that?” Merlin was yelling now. “You had me for one night, Arthur! One bloody amazing, terrifying night, and you say that you know me? You know nothing about me!”

“And what makes you think you can judge me then?” Arthur responded quietly, watching the emotions playing out across Merlin’s face. He had never met someone who was as open as a book. But at the same time, he knew that it was Merlin deciding which page the book fell open on. He had hidden his power from Arthur on their first meeting, and despite being trained to identify sorcerers, Arthur hadn’t detected the slightest hint of magic. Merlin was the most open and most closed person Arthur had ever met, and it was infuriating him.

“You’re a prat.”

“And you’re an idiot. Now shut up and go back to sleep.”

“I’m not a child.” Merlin surly retorted, squirming slightly. It was only now he seemed to feel that he was lying on his hands.

“Stop acting like one then.” Arthur suddenly felt tired, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger before sliding back down the wall and resuming his previous position. Merlin opened his mouth, and Arthur groaned.

“Merlin. Sleep. Now.” Arthur watched closely as Merlin huffed irritably, turning his back on the commander. Without a word, Arthur stood, draped the covers back over him and sat back down again. He knew what was going on. Merlin’s aggressiveness was a front, trying to cover up that Arthur had caught him at a vulnerable moment when he had first woken up from the nightmare. The warlock didn’t say anything else, and Arthur watched as the tension slowly left his body as sleep took him once more. Sighing, the commander turned unseeing eyes onto the wall opposite.

What was he supposed to do with the youth? Merlin clearly didn’t want to stay here, and Arthur knew if he carried on fighting like this, they would have no choice but to let him go. It would draw attention if Merlin carried on yelling like this, and it wasn’t only their superiors Arthur didn’t want turning up. The unit had more enemies than the rest of the army put together, and Arthur knew it was only through trust that meant their location hadn’t been revealed. The unit famous for taking down sorcerers was a high target on the rebels list if they were to try and up their antics with the revolution. 

With thoughts bouncing around his mind and make his head pound, Arthur didn’t notice that he too was falling asleep. He had gone days before with no rest, his lifestyle saw to that. But regardless of the fact he was determined to keep an eye on Merlin – especially now that he had untied him from the bed – something else was happening. Arthur didn’t even notice that he was beginning to sweat slightly as his eyes drifted shut.

Before he could even think about stopping himself, he had fallen asleep.

MMM

Merlin had no idea what woke him up the second time. He managed to kick his way free of the covers and awkwardly sat up, cursing the cuffs and the fact that he couldn’t get them off. His eyes soon fell on Arthur’s sleeping form and he scowled. He hadn’t meant to lash out like that before, he just hated the way the commander seemed to make him go weak, seemed to drag all of his fears to the surface and leave him open and exposed. With powerful magic at his disposal, there wasn’t a lot which could make Merlin afraid, sorcerers being the exception. But somehow, Arthur Pendragon with his blond hair and blue eyes had him squirming. His face was closed off to expressing his feelings, but Merlin could see them bubbling away just under the surface. The emotions were there, it was just like Arthur was afraid of admitting them. Shaking his head in bemusement, Merlin knew why. It was the same reason he had started yelling after admitting to being afraid. It was a defence, not wanting anyone to get too close. Maybe they were more alike than either of them would want to admit?

For a moment, Merlin just leant back on the wall, eyes locked on Arthur even as he tried to slide his hands free. The cuffs were too much of a snug fit though, all he was managing to do was make his wrists sore. He couldn’t help but freeze when he managed to thump his head on the wall behind him in frustration, holding his breath in case Arthur stirred. The commander slept on, and Merlin frowned. By holding his own breath, it made him acutely aware of how heavily Arthur was breathing, almost like it sounded strained. And judging by how on edge the man seemed to have been earlier, Merlin was more than surprised the man hadn’t stirred at the audible thud.

Wriggling his legs, Merlin managed to scoot over to the edge of the bed and dropped to the floor. He had to almost wobble his way across the room until he was standing over Arthur’s sleeping form. Normally, he would have crouched down next to the man, but had a horrible feeling that he wouldn’t be able to get up again if he did that, not with his hands bound. But even just being closer was telling him enough. Something was wrong. 

Arthur’s breathing was heavy, a deep frown on his face as he seemed to jerk his head slightly.

“Arthur?” Wondering whether perhaps the commander was suffering from a nightmare in the way he had, Merlin drew back his foot, kicking the man lightly. “Oi. Prince. Arthur. Arthur, you prat, wake up.” Another kick, harder this time had Merlin drawing back frowning. Arthur wasn’t stirring. Despite their claims that they didn’t know each other, Merlin had picked up enough about Arthur’s lifestyle to know that kicking the commander would have been a sure way to wake him up. There was nothing for it, he was going to have to try and get one of the others.

He made his way to the door, and it took several attempts through using his elbows and then his chin before he was able to force the door open. Sticking his foot in the gap before it closed again, Merlin slipped through. For a moment, he froze. The lounge (for he supposed that was what it was) was in darkness, but the shapes of the other men spread around it was visible. He swallowed hard, not being sure what he should do. He had been unconscious when they had rescued him, and then they had helped Arthur stop him from escaping. Could he really trust them? Should he even try, or should he try and slip for the door? Merlin only managed one step before the sound of Arthur’s laboured breathing echoed through his head and the young warlock cursed. The blond was in some sort of trouble, and Merlin found he couldn’t leave.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” A rough hand grabbed his elbow, jerking him back from where Merlin had been about to take another step. He could detect a hint of Irish in the man’s accent and twisting his head, saw that it was the man who had drawn his gun when Merlin had first tried to make a run for it.

“Nowhere.”

“Liar.” The man pushed him away, albeit it in a more gentle way than Merlin was expecting. He still managed to catch his foot on a cushion and fell over backwards, landing with a thud as his hands couldn’t break the fall. Almost immediately, one of the other men jerked awake.

“Gwaine? What the hell are you doing?”

“Caught this one trying to make a run for it.” Gwaine responded, causing Merlin to glare up at him.

“I told you I wasn’t!” He didn’t care that he was yelling, Merlin simply stared at the man over him, trying to get him to believe that something was wrong with their leader just through the look in their prisoner’s eyes. Merlin was fully aware that was all he was to them, they didn’t have any of the reasons Arthur did for doing this, they were just following orders.

“Yet you just happened to be heading towards the door?”

“I was coming to get you!”

“Why?” The man whose name Merlin didn’t know stepped into his eye line, face curious. There was suspicion lining his eyes, but he looked like he believed Merlin more than Gwaine was. Merlin locked eyes with him earnestly.

“I think something is wrong with Arthur.” He said softly. He has seen how this man had addressed the commander before, and knew there was a genuine care for the man there. The man narrowed his eyes slightly, but Gwaine scoffed.

“Nice try, mate. Oldest trick in the book, send us running in there and you run that way? What did you do to him, sleeping spell?”

“With these on?” Merlin said bitterly, jerking his hands towards the side before the strain on his shoulders was too much and they fell back into a more comfortable position behind his back.

“How did you get free from the bed?”

“Arthur unlocked the cuffs earlier. But I’m telling you, something is wrong, his breathing is all funny and he won’t wake up.” Even Gwaine couldn’t hide the frown on his face, but Leon went pale.

“What’s the date?”

“Shit!”

“Percival! You’re needed! Lancelot, get Gaius here, now.”

“What’s going on?” Merlin didn’t quite realise what he had just said to cause such a reaction, but Gwaine grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet and gently pushing him onto the sofa.

“Just stay out of the way.” Merlin sat where he was for long enough to let the men around him all leap up. Gwaine, the giant of a man Merlin assumed was Percival and the tall stranger whose name he still didn’t know went running into the bedroom. Another – Lancelot, Merlin presumed – grabbed a phone whilst the final man took off after the first three. Deciding that Lancelot probably had other things to worry about than him, Merlin followed them into the bedroom.

If Merlin thought that Arthur had been breathing heavily before, it was the complete opposite of what he was doing now. All the colour had drained from his face in the short time Merlin had been out of the room, a sheen of sweat beading his forehead and his body jerking in an erratic manner. Gwaine had hoisted him onto the bed and the other man was desperately trying to rouse him. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Merlin pressed himself into the wall, using it as support since his balance was out due to the cuffs.

“Arthur? Arthur, please, don’t let her win...”

“Leon?” Finally Merlin had a name for the other man, but found that he was almost inching forward. There was something in the air, something that was setting his nerves alight even with the magical restraints holding back his own power. He couldn’t quite put a name to it, but he knew that it was something vicious, something magical...and it seemed to be flowing from the unconscious commander. Leon’s head swivelled towards Gwaine, and Merlin found that he was following his gaze. The man was holding a bottle of what looked like pills, and Merlin frowned when he saw they were full, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

“No! No, Arthur, c’mon, you’ve come too far now... Don’t go and die because you were a moron who forgot to take them, please...” Merlin may have been young, but even he could hear the terror in Leon’s voice. Whatever was happening to Arthur, Merlin knew it was serious.

“Wha-?”

“I can’t get through to Gaius! Well, I can, but he can’t get here!” Lancelot came crashing into the room, almost hitting Elyan with the door and Merlin shrunk back again. He knew that this was a unit working together here. But it was no mission or simple operation, they were all worried about Arthur. Despite telling himself otherwise, Merlin felt himself feeling for them. Arthur clearly had their loyalty, respect and love more than Merlin had realised, especially if they were prepared to risk everything for him. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to be in the flat, he was still supposed to be locked in a cell having his magic drained from him. They had gone against everything, just because Arthur had told them too.

“What do you mean?”

“They won’t let him out of the centre because of the breakout.” Lancelot continued in a calmer voice, and it was almost as one that the whole unit turned to look at Merlin. He stared back, determined that he wasn’t going to flinch. It wasn’t his fault they had decided to rescue him, it wasn’t even his fault that he had ended up in a situation he needed rescuing from! Now that he had their attention, however, he swallowed.

“What’s happening to him?”

“You know what we have to do?” Elyan’s voice was quiet even as they watched Percival try and wake Arthur up, all of them completely ignoring Merlin. The warlock cursed under his breath, hands twisting once more to try and free himself. He knew this was potentially his chance to run, and yet found that he couldn’t make himself leave the room. There was something clenching in his gut, something that made him incapable of going. He simply had to know whether Arthur was going to be alright or not. Where this concern for the man who had just made his life hell came from, he had no idea, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

“No, no, we can’t. What do we do with the kid?” Gwaine’s response made Merlin scowl, but unseen by the men, he began inching closer to the bed again.

“Uther’s the only one who has the clearance to get Gaius out.”

“He’s probably the one who is stopping him from leaving. Why would he change his mind?”

“It’s Arthur.”

“So? He’s never treated him differently before because he is his son.” Merlin was trying desperately to block out the argument going on around him and concentrating on getting closer to the bed. But just as he got there, Gwaine grabbed his arm, slamming him back against the wall. He left his hand resting on Merlin’s shoulder, effectively pinning him there.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to help.” Merlin said quietly, knowing that they had no reason to believe him. For all they knew, he was just looking for a way to escape, and considering his earlier behaviour, Merlin couldn’t blame them. He just wondered whether their concern for Arthur – who’s breathing was getting more and more shallow every second that past – would overcome their mistrust of him.

“What can you do?” Gwaine practically spat, but Merlin saw Lancelot and Leon exchange looks behind Gwaine’s head. Locking his gaze on Leon, Merlin stopped struggling against Gwaine’s hold, letting the soldier hold him still.

“It’s a hex, isn’t it?” He said softly, and heard Elyan draw in a sharp breath from the other side of the room. Leon slowly nodded.

“A witch, Morguase. She took Arthur’s half-sister, twisted her to her ways. Arthur was young and headstrong; he went after Morgana on his own. The spell drains him once a month unless he takes the tablets Gaius’ prescribed, it somehow counters the effects. But with everything that happened tonight, I don’t think he took them. It’ll kill him if we can’t get Gaius here.”

“Un-cuff me.” Merlin had listened with a sinking heart. He had only heard rumours of such a spell once, and he was sure that Kilgharrah had been trying to scare him. The old librarian back in Ealdor had always liked talking to Merlin about his magic, he had been the only other person to know. But Merlin knew that what Leon was saying was true, Arthur was running out of time.

“So you can run? Just stay out of it!” Gwaine snapped, pushing him further back into the wall but Merlin could see the concern in his eyes as Arthur gave a whimper, his legs jerking slightly as if kicking out at an unseen force.

“Warlock, remember?” Merlin retorted, using what little body weight he had to push the man away slightly. “I don’t know much about spells, everything I can do just happens, don’t ask me to explain it. But you said that he would die unless Gaius gets here, who at the moment can’t, right?”

“Right,” Lancelot said softly, and Merlin turned his attention onto him. The man looked like he was accepting what Merlin was about to say. Wondering if he had found the one member of the unit that would trust him, Merlin locked eyes with him, willing the man to see that he meant no harm.

“I can give him that time. Like I said, don’t ask me to explain it. I can feel my magic wanting to react to him...” One of them let out a muffled noise, and Merlin felt his cheeks burn. “React to the magic, that’s what I meant! It wants to be let lose, wants to help...”

“What’s to stop you turning on us or just killing him?” Leon said softly. It hadn’t escaped Merlin’s notice that he had stepped forward, effectively shielding Arthur from Merlin’s gaze. The warlock had to smile at the loyalty of the man. He didn’t doubt Merlin as much as he was trying to protect Arthur, and Merlin couldn’t comment on that. He too had done all that he could in order to protect those he loved in the past, not considering the circumstances if he had acted in any other way.

“If I wanted him dead, I would have killed him when he cornered me outside of the club. You saw your bands did nothing, I could have killed you all there. I’m not like them, you have to believe me. I can’t save him, I don’t know how. But I can buy him time until Gaius gets here.”

“Do it.”

“But...”

“Gwaine, it’s either that or we let Arthur die. Elyan, take the phone from Lancelot, call Uther. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but we need Gaius, end of story. Lancelot, find the keys to the cuffs. Percival, hold Arthur down, his jerking is getting worse. Gwaine...” Merlin didn’t hear the man’s last instructions as Leon whispered them in his ear, but as Gwaine’s hand drifted to the waistline of his trousers around his back and he nodded, the warlock glanced away. Why did he get the feeling that the man had just been ordered to keep an eye on him?

He couldn’t protest though as Lancelot gestured for him to step away from the wall. The teenager did so, his eyes locked on Arhtur even as the soldier moved behind him. For a long moment, he could just feel Lancelot fiddling with the cuffs and wildly wondered whether they were just playing with him, making him think they were going to free him but really do something else.

Finally though, there came a slight click, and Merlin gasped. The bands had barely stopped him, but the cuffs had made him feel like he was suffocating, taking his power and suppressing it. The second the restraints were removed, all of that powerful came flooding back, and he was vaguely aware of Gwaine swearing as he felt his eyes begin to burn. He couldn’t hold it back, not after everything he had been through.

But neither did he want to hold it back. He hadn’t been kidding when he said that his magic was reacting to what was happening to Arthur. In a way Merlin had never experienced before, it was like his power was wanting to help, desperate to reach out and save the blond’s life.

So Merlin let it.

Stretching out a hand, he directed the warmth flowing through his veins at the motionless figure on the bed. Another gasp escaped him as he practically saw the magic flow out of him, encompassing every inch of Arthur and almost making him glow for a long moment. The warlock actually had no idea what was happening, but somehow it just felt right.

Eventually, the magic began to slow down before stopping altogether. Merlin leant forward, his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. He had never done anything like that before, never felt that powerful. It seemed ironic that his strongest display of magic was in the presence of the people who had hunted him for it. But as Leon moved forward again, checking Arthur’s breathing, Merlin sank down the wall, feeling exhausted.

Somehow he knew before Leon smiled. His magic truly had known what to do, and something deep within the warlock stirred in satisfaction. Arthur was going to live.

Merlin’s magic had saved him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And he’ll know that is was us. He’ll wipe us out for it.” Leon rested a hand on Arthur’s shoulder for a moment, clearly seeing that Arthur had gone even paler than he was before.

A hush fell across the room, all of the men holding their breaths as they turned to face their commander. Arthur had stopped struggling against an unseen force, his breathing hitching slightly before he seemed to settle. He sagged, sinking into the bed and Merlin knew that he didn’t need to explain that he had simply fallen into a deeper sleep. As soon as Arthur calmed, the warlock felt his magic whirl around the room. It was enjoying the freedom that it had been denied, and saving Arthur had just woken it up. It wanted to be lose, wanted to protect its host, and before Merlin knew what he was doing, he could feel the gold leaking into his eyes and his hand rising slightly.

“What the hell are you doing?” Elyan asked softly, but Merlin didn’t miss the way the men were instantly back on alert. Gwaine and Leon made sure that Merlin couldn’t get to Arthur, and Percival was reaching into his pocket, no doubt for a weapon. Merlin knew that it was naive of him to think that they would have even slept unarmed with a warlock in their midst. He sighed, staring at his outstretched hand. What was he doing? He could take them down, knock them all out with one thought if he wanted to, but where would that get him? He would have to run, and knew that this team were good. Somehow, he didn’t think there would be anywhere that he could run too that would be far enough away for them not to find him. For a moment, it was as if time had frozen around him. If he tried to escape, tried to use magic, he knew that his life as he knew it was over. But could he just stay here and potentially let them do anything they wanted just to make the point that he was different? Unbidden, Arthur’s earlier promise about them not hurting him floated into his head.

“Nothing.” Merlin sighed. But the magic didn’t want to simply pull back. Instead, the warlock kept his hand up and let the power flood his senses. There was an audible gasp from somewhere, but he wasn’t sure who. Instead, he just focused on the bed and let the magic draw the covers up around the now resting commander. Thankfully, the small amount of control this had given him over not just his magic, but the whole situation made his gift calm down. It settled, almost like a cat curling up. It was still there, still ready to spring into action, but was content for now.

“Never thought I would see that.” Lancelot muttered, finally beginning to smile now that the danger seemed to have passed. Elyan watched for another moment, before disappearing back into the living room, clearly trying to make the calls that Leon had instructed him too. The rest of the group almost seemed to pair off, Leon and Gwaine were talking in hushed voices the other side of the bed and Percival murmured something to Lancelot. 

Leaning against the wall, Merlin could only watch them, wondering just how deep the bond within this unit ran. There was no denying they had genuinely been scared for Arthur, and judging by the way they hadn’t yet relaxed – not that Merlin could blame them, he had said he wouldn’t be able to save the blond – knew that worry was still there. It wasn’t just a unit caring for its leader, they were friends, a type of brotherhood formed that Merlin knew he was only scratching the surface on. It both scared and awed him as he realised these men would die for one another. Who would do that for him? Will had been a good friend over the years, but would he go that far? Merlin liked to think so, but also hoped that he never had to find out.

Thinking about Will made Merlin sigh. Would his friend have noticed that he was gone yet? What would he do when Merlin didn’t answer his phone or the door? Would he call his mother? Would he call the police? Running a hand over his face, feeling exhausted, Merlin was moving before he even thought about what he was doing. He didn’t notice Leon and Gwaine glance at him anxiously as he climbed up on the bed, curling into one of the free spots that Arthur’s sprawled form had left.

“Your fault, you self-righteous prat.” He mumbled bitterly at the sleeping commander. He wasn’t able to stop himself from brushing Arthur’s hair back from his forehead though, glad that his temperature seemed normal. Not knowing what was supposed to happen now, Merlin shut his eyes, his head coming to rest on Arthur’s chest. The man’s deep and steady breathing soon lulled him into a false sense of security and he didn’t notice as he too began to drift off to sleep.

It was a loud banging noise followed by a colourful curse that woke Merlin up this time around. He jerked wildly for a moment, somehow having moved when he was asleep and managed to tangle his leg up with Arthur’s. Swearing himself, the warlock jolted as the door to the bedroom banged open and Lancelot came practically running in. Without a word, he hauled Merlin off the bed. The desperation of his actions meant that Merlin allowed himself to be moved, but still couldn’t stop a small yelp from escaping him when he stumbled.

“Sorry, sorry...” The man mumbled, steadying Merlin by the elbow and pushing him towards another door. Pulling it open, Merlin just about caught sight of the bathroom before he was pushed in. “If you value your life, stay in there and stay quiet.”

“What’s going on?”

“Gaius is here.” Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. The old man had been kind to him at the cells. Despite being unconscious when he was “saved”, Merlin had a feeling that the doctor wouldn’t have exactly tried to stop Arthur and his men, not when he considered what had been said about destiny and such like. There was something reassuringly cryptic about Gaius, something that reminded Merlin of Kilgharrah and made him feel like someone would actually understand what it was that he was caught up in. Lancelot, however, seemed to read the relief on Merlin’s face. He paused, his body blocking the way back into the bedroom, but a worried look on his face.

“He’s not alone. Uther’s here as well.” Merlin involuntary swallowed. The only time he had heard Uther being mentioned was when the unit found they couldn’t get Gaius. The reference that he was Arthur’s father already was making Merlin’s blood run cold and he wasn’t sure why.

“You don’t want him to find you. Are you going to sit here quietly or do I need to cuff you again?” It was clear that Lancelot was trying to sound threatening, but Merlin could see the way he was glancing anxiously over his shoulder as he spoke. If they wanted Merlin caught and restrained, there would be no way they would attempt to hide him. The warlock smiled.

“I’ll be good.” He promised, and watched as Lancelot almost seemed to sag in relief. The soldier smiled, and despite himself, Merlin found that he was smiling back. The man didn’t seem to be as threatening as the rest of them, as if he truly believed that what he was doing was the right thing. Considering the attitude of the whole group, Merlin knew it would have been a lot worse for him if it had been an amateur group. These men didn’t seem to have anything against magic as such, but were just doing as they were told.

He sat down heavily on the toilet seat, looking about him as he did so. He had been in here once before, but the rest of the men weren’t to know that. Considering all that was in here was signs of Arthur, he wondered whether there was another bathroom somewhere else in the flat that the rest of the men shared. This was too organised, too personal for a group of six to share. Tracing his finger along the sink, Merlin found that he was lost in thought. What kind of life was it they led, all six of them in a flat that was clearly designed for one, two at the most. Did they move around a lot, was that why they could deal with living like this? He had seen the state of the living room and the kitchen, the place was a tip. Clear signs of people that only ever stopped in for long enough to rest. This was a base, not a home.

Standing up again, he moved slowly around the room. He didn’t know what it was that he was looking for, but found that he was after something that connected him to the Arthur he had first met. The man had seemed scared, vulnerable even. Judging from what he now knew about them, Merlin wondered whether it had been a mission gone wrong, or this mysterious curse that the commander was under. He had been desperate, his movements almost clumsy and frantic. Despite now wondering whether it had just been another act to make sure that his conquest hadn’t realised who Arthur really was, Merlin couldn’t help but smirk when he thought about the coffee table in the lounge. There had been what looked like files spread over it when he had crept in, but he wondered if the rest of the men knew how literally one of their targets had been taken to pieces on that very same table. Muffling a snort of amusement, Merlin clamped a hand over his mouth as he heard voices in the room beyond.

Creeping to the door, the warlock held his breath as he inched it open slightly. By leaning against the wall, he could just about see into the room. Arthur was still on the bed, that much was apparent. He wasn’t quite sure what his magic had done, but he knew that the commander wouldn’t be stirring any time soon. He could see Leon, the man was practically standing to attention next to the bed, and there were shapes that he couldn’t quite make out by the bedroom door. He didn’t need to be able to see in order to know that it was the rest of the unit. Leaning over Arthur was an old man, and it was only as he turned to face the light slightly did the warlock realise that it was Gaius. But it was the man next to him that had Merlin’s heart beating fast. Uther. It had to be. The one who had sent the unit after him, the one who was responsible for destroying his life. Growling under his breath slightly, Merlin made to open the door further, feeling his magic rising up.

“How did you calm him?”

“Sedative, Sir.” Percival responded quietly, glancing towards the bathroom by accident as he spoke. His eyes met Merlin’s through the gap, and the warlock wasn’t sure whether anyone else saw the way he minutely shook his head. Before he could stop himself, Merlin had sighed, letting the magic die away again. What had he actually been planning to do anyway? He had got himself stuck in a corner. After swearing to Arthur that he never hurt anyone with his magic, Merlin knew that he now had to stick by that promise. If he didn’t, he had a feeling the commander wouldn’t even blink before hauling him back to the cells. And this time, there would be no rescue.

Shuddering slightly, Merlin wrapped his arms around his knees and sunk to the floor. Leaning on the wall, he continued to listen hard, trying to hear anything that might give him more of a clue of what was going on.

“Well done, it’s stabilised him. Leon, pass me his pills, I need to check the dosage. I have the same thing in liquid form, and injection of that should bring him back to us the same way the pills would.”

“Gaius, how long is he going to be like this?” Uther’s voice sent shivers down his spine. How could a man sound like he almost didn’t care what was happening to his son? Merlin knew Arthur was capable of sounding cold, but he knew that the man could also sound pleading, passionate and caring. Uther didn’t sound like he could be anything other than cold, his voice sounded almost clipped. For the first time since he had heard them talk about whether Uther would come even despite the fact that it was his son, Merlin truly believed their doubts.

“Just until the sedative wears off, Sir.”

“No, I mean... the curse. How long will he be under power?” 

“He’s under no one’s power, Sir.” Merlin couldn’t help it, he had to snort at the way Gwaine had delivered those words. It seemed that he was not the only one who was not approving of the way Uther was talking. Merlin risked peering through the door again to see Percival with a faint smile on his face and Leon looking like he was trying to be disapproving, but not quite managing it.

“Watch your tongue, soldier.”

“The boy is right.” Gaius cut in, his steely look being the only thing to stop Gwaine bristling too much at being called a “boy.” “Arthur is not under anyone’s control, and as long as he remembers to take the tablets, then this shouldn’t happen again.”

“Why didn’t he take them tonight?” There was almost a collective intake of breath as the men glanced at each other. Merlin sat slowly back. He knew why. Arthur had been too busy trying to “save” him. Could it be that that was what had almost cost the blond his life?

“I am going to use the bathroom, I suggest that you have an answer by the time I get back.” Everyone was too wrapped up in their thoughts to really pay attention to what Uther had just said until he began to walk across the room.

“No, Sir!” Gwaine’s yell had Merlin jumping to his feet, pressing himself against the wall whilst frantically trying to see if there was another way out of the small room. There wasn’t, the door being the only option.

“Step aside, Soldier.”

“Why don’t you use the other one, Sir?” It was Leon’s calming voice now, and soft footsteps showed that he was moving across the room, obviously trying to step Uther. Merlin spun on the spot, dragging a hand through his hair as he realised there was nowhere for him to go. This was going to be it, they were going to catch him and send him back to that cell. Wildly, he wondered whether Gaius would be able to stop Sigan and Alvarr tearing him apart this time or whether he too would just stand by and watch.

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

“Then I am using that bathroom. Judging by the state of the flat, I am not expecting anything decent...”

“But, Sir..!” Lancelot had joined in now, and Merlin had to clap a hand over his mouth to stop him from yelling out loud in frustration. Uther couldn’t find him, not here and not now. Merlin knew that he had to get away, not just because the leader was here, but from everything. But there had been something in Arthur’s eyes when he had refused to let the warlock go, something that Merlin knew meant he wasn’t being told something. Were they not letting him go because they thought that he was potentially dangerous, but also couldn’t have it on their consciences to put him back in the cells? Or were they not letting him go because there was something else out there? 

“Step aside. Now.” Merlin had heard that sort of tone before; it was the same voice Arthur had used when he had ordered his men to get the handcuffs. The warlock had seen how they had reacted, they were soldiers trained to obey commands. There was no way they were about to disobey Uther. Merlin backed himself up into the far wall, letting his power come to the surface. He wasn’t sure whether he truly heard a slight gasp from inside the room or whether he was imaging it. Even if he had heard it, Merlin had no idea what it was supposed to mean. His mind was too preoccupied by the fact that the door was beginning to open to worry about noises that he may or may not have heard.

Merlin was ready. His power was burning brightly at his fingertips and he knew this was the one chance he might have. It did go against everything he had ever tried to use his magic for, but this time, there was no choice. It was either or attack, or be dragged off, potentially to his death. He took a deep breath as he door inched open a little further.

“Ungh...” The door stopped.

“Arthur?”

Another groan, and Merlin could have almost sobbed in relief. The door didn’t move, but soft footsteps indicated that someone was walking away from it. Merlin didn’t dare move. He had backed himself into the corner of the room in a desperate attempt to save himself, but now knew that if he so much as thought as stepping forward, he would be seen. It was strange, part of him wanted to be seen, wanted to fight and escape from the men who were keeping him here. But another part wanted to make sure that Arthur was going to be okay first. It was as if there was a piece of him who had believed what the commander had said about him being safe here. If he was honest, Merlin had felt safe, safer than he had done in a long time. But he was furious at himself for feeling it. How could he feel safe with a high efficient team who had effectively kidnapped him? Sinking back down into a crouch, Merlin glared at the floor, trying to vent his frustrations this way. He was at battle with his own mind in a way he hadn’t been for years, and it was annoying him.

“Arthur, can you hear me?”

“G’us? Wha-?”

“Easy, Sir. You gave your men quite a scare there, just rest easy for a moment.

“Arthur?”

“Father?” More than anything, Merlin wished he could see what was going on in the room. Arthur had sounded cautious on finding out that his father was there, and the warlock just wished that he could see his face. Would that be the reason why Arthur seemed so afraid of being able to open up with his feelings?

“Good. Gaius, do what you must, then meet me in the car in ten minutes.” There were clipped footsteps across the room, the sound of a door opening and shutting again, and Merlin found that he was letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“You can come out now.” Gwaine’s amused voice made Merlin cross the bathroom, practically kicking the door open the rest of the way and standing there with his arms folded. Did the man think it was funny that Merlin could have been caught? His angry protests died on his lips when he saw that Gaius was still standing there, watching him. Merlin swallowed hard, his eyes involuntarily flicking to the bedroom door. Percival saw his movement and took one step to the left, blocking the exit. Merlin scowled.

“You alright, mate?” There was a gentler tone in Gwaine’s voice this time, one that Merlin hadn’t yet heard before. It did make him wonder how much of the terror that had been racing through his veins was now showing on his face.

“Percy, you lump, move.” The voice came from behind the giant of a man, but he obliging stepped to one side. Merlin didn’t need telling twice, but ran for it. He only made it a few steps before Gwaine was on top of him.

“Get the cuffs again!” Merlin snarled, his eyes flashing. For once, he didn’t hold back, but unleashed his power, throwing Gwaine away from him and crashing him straight into Leon. Both men fell over with a yell, Gaius only just stepping out of the way. Percival immediately tensed, ready for action as Elyan seemed to dive towards a drawer, clearly indicating where they had hidden the cuffs from Uther. Lancelot, however, stepped into the room, moving closer to the golden-eyed youth.

“You don’t want to do this, Merlin.”

“Then get out of my way!” He was trying to sound intimidating, but knew that it came out as more of a frightened gasp. He couldn’t help it, everything was just beginning to catch up with him slightly. Lancelot made a slight movement with his hand, and Merlin tried to back away as he and Elyan began to approach him, the latter with cuffs in his hand once more.

“We don’t want to hurt you, Merlin, we’re trying to help.”

“By keeping me here? You can’t do this!” The power had built again and Merlin was prepared to blast the two of them across the room. He didn’t want to be good anymore, not if this was the result.

“You haven’t told him?” There was something in Gaius’ voice that made the two approaching soldiers stop, glancing guilty at each other before towards the bed. Arthur seemed to feel their stares and forced his eyes open, flushing at the look Gaius was giving him.

“He wouldn’t shut up for long enough. I had enough trouble stopping him from murdering us all-,”

Merlin snorted in disbelief.

“-, to be able to explain.” Gaius tutted disapprovingly, but there was something soft in his eyes as he looked down at Arthur’s almost collapsed form. Whatever this hex was, Merlin knew it was strong. The commander could barely even lift his head, and the warlock couldn’t help but wonder just how quickly he would have died if Merlin’s magic hadn’t reacted to it.

“Merlin, my boy, please release that power you have bubbling under the surface there, it does no good for a youth such as yourself to keep it on edge like that.” Merlin blinked in astonishment, eyebrows disappearing. But before he had even thought about what he was doing, the hold on his power began to slip and it calmed down again. He knew the moment his eyes turned back to their normal colour by the way Lancelot seemed to sag in relief. 

“Now,” Gaius continued, nodding in approval, “I believe you were making some, tea, Lancelot?” The man nodded, reaching behind Percival and pulling out a tray. Merlin hadn’t even noticed him put it down when he first entered, but the rest of the men practically swarmed to it. He had to smile as Gwaine smacked Elyan’s hand out of the way and grabbed the mug the younger man had been aiming towards. Gaius rolled his eyes at them, busying himself with helping prop Arthur up before taking one of the remaining mugs.

“I didn’t know how you liked it.” Lancelot’s quiet voice made Merlin blink, and he realised that everyone in the room was staring at him. Feeling colour rush to his cheeks in a self conscious way, he tentatively took a step forward, but found that once again, his eyes were drawn to the door.

“Merlin, if you think about running for it before hearing Gaius out, I’m going to handcuff you again.” Arthur didn’t even have his eyes open as he spoke, his voice sounding hoarse, but Gwaine made no attempt to disguise the burst out laughter that seemed to almost explode from him.

“The princess is getting to know you.” He clapped Merlin on the shoulder, picked up the last mug and practically forced it into Merlin’s hands. “May as well make yourself comfy, kid, Gaius’ tales go on for an age.”

“Mind your tongue, Gwaine, or I’ll remove it.” Merlin blinked, but there was a fond smile on Gaius’ face even as Gwaine gave him a mock salute and sat down on the edge of the bed, nudging Arthur’s feet out of the way at the same time. Not knowing what else to do, Merlin tightened his grip on the mug and slid back down the wall. He couldn’t help but feel a lot safer when there was something solid behind him and he could keep at all the men in his line of vision. Percival was still blocking the door, and Merlin knew there was no way out for him. Not unless he used magic again, and if he was honest, he was too tired to do it again. The fight had practically left him, but he couldn’t help but sigh in satisfaction as he took a sip of the tea.

“Perfect,” he muttered, not realising that he was speaking out loud until he glanced up to be met with Lancelot’s beaming smile. Gwaine rolled his eyes, and Arthur finally managed to open his. 

“How are your arms?” Gaius’ question made Merlin blink, realising that he had barely even felt the wounds the sorcerers had carved into him. “Gwaine told me they made quite a pretty pattern of you.”

Merlin shrugged, rolling up the sleeves of Arthur’s jacket and peering at the bandages underneath. He had bled slightly, probably not helped by the way he had been fighting, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gaius lean forward. He kept his distance though, either wanting to give the teenager some space or wary of what would happen if he got too close.

“He won’t hurt you, Gaius. He swore.” Merlin blinked. He had expected Arthur to sound scathing again, like he wasn’t sure whether to believe Merlin or not. But he had sounded frank and honest, and Gaius seemed to relax.

“I knew that he was a good boy.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” Merlin muttered, pulling the sleeves back down again. Percival almost seemed to wince, as if he was worried that his handy work would be ruined. Merlin flinched slightly, realising that being rough on his own wounds was not going to get him anywhere and shot the man an apologetic grin. He had potentially saved Merlin’s life, after all, what good was it to be hostile. “So just let me go.”

“Merlin...”

“Arthur, tell him.” There was a finality in Gaius’s voice that made everyone turn to look at Arthur. He had managed to navigate himself into a more upright position, although Merlin wondered whether anyone else could see past the brave face he was trying to pull. Probably. He had only known the commander a matter of hours, his men lived with him. Merlin got the feeling there wasn’t a lot Arthur could hide from them. But he wasn’t in the mood to question it, his mind whirring over what they were talking about.

“Tell me what?”

“Do you really think that we want you here?” Arthur said bluntly, and Merlin immediately bristled. The commander seemed to know that he was about to get yelled at again and held up a hand. “Don’t argue just for the sake of arguing Merlin, you don’t want to be here either.” His eyes glanced to Leon and Gwaine, Leon still attempting to straighten his shirt from where Merlin had sent them flying.

“Then why don’t you just let me go?” It was as if everyone else in the room had just faded out of existence as Merlin locked eyes with Arthur, his heart pounding uncomfortably fast. Maybe his earlier thoughts about something else going on were true after all?

“Merlin... we weren’t the ones to find you.” Merlin scoffed, rolling his eyes even as he took another sip of his tea.

“So what do you call the ambush behind the club then?”

“We were the ones to catch you, I’m not denying that. But we were told where to find you. Your file is out there, you can see for yourself. There is another team, known as the Trackers. They’re led by a man named Aredian.”

Gaius shuddered and Merlin frowned. The man’s reaction hadn’t been to Arthur perhaps giving away more details than he should have, but to the man himself. Leon had tensed and Elyan swallowed quietly. Whoever this man was, Merlin didn’t need to ask to know that he was not good news. If the Round Table could react like this, what chance did anyone else have?

“He can find pretty much anyone. Face it, I didn’t know about you the first time we...met. I had no idea that you are the strongest person that we have gone against.” Somehow, Merlin didn’t think that was meant as a compliment.

“If you step out of this door, he’ll find you in seconds.”

“What?!”

“And he’ll know that is was us. He’ll wipe us out for it.” Leon rested a hand on Arthur’s shoulder for a moment, clearly seeing that Arthur had gone even paler than he was before. The commander wasn’t just trying to bluff here, he seemed genuinely concerned about what would happen if his team were implicated in this. Merlin was burning to ask why they had helped him if the consequences were that bad, but held his tongue. Arthur didn’t seem to be finished.

“We can get you out though. It will take a few days, we have to make sure that we are not being watched. But you can’t go now, Merlin, or you’ll end up back in the cell faster than you can blink. And this time, there will be no rescue.”

“Scare the boy, why don’t you?” Gaius muttered, shooting Arthur a look that had the commander blushing slightly. Merlin didn’t notice though, the blood was pounding in his head as he stared at Arthur. There was someone else after him? Someone that could find him anywhere?

“Only in Camelot.” Arthur corrected, seeming to know what Merlin was thinking. “Give us a week, and we can get you out. But Merlin...”

The warlock had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this.

“... we need you to stay here for now. So please, if you stick by your promise of not hurting anyone, you can stay here, free.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a contradiction?” Merlin muttered, fingers playing with the mug.

“Fight us and we’ll just cuff you. We’re getting you out, Merlin, but I will not have you bring my team down with you.” Merlin met Arthur’s eyes at his harsh tone, but could only see the protectiveness there. Eventually, he sighed and glumly nodded.

He didn’t think he really had a choice in the matter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's amazing what you can find clearing up a mess... unlikely friendships can be discovered in the most random of places.

Merlin stared at the mess around him, eyebrows raised in disbelief. It had been three days since he had been brought here, two days since Arthur had collapsed and they had revealed that this was a lot bigger than their own team. The following day after discovering that leaving would just result in his capture, Merlin had thrown a strop that Will would have been proud of. The team had been left in the lounge as Merlin blocked the way into Arthur’s bedroom, practically destroying the whole room as his magic lashed out. Of course, he had then felt exceedingly guilty about it and proceeded to put the whole place back in order before sitting on the floor, exhausted. 

Somehow, he knew what Arthur had been saying was true, that he wouldn’t be able to get anywhere on his own. Why he believed the commander, Merlin had no idea. But if he had to give a reason, it was because of how Arthur had worded it. He didn’t say that he was worried for Merlin, he had been worried for his team. Merlin couldn’t fault that, the men clearly lived one big shared life. If it had been the warlock Arthur had tried to claim concern for, Merlin wouldn’t have trusted him, knowing that Arthur would have been trained to hide his emotions. They may have had one night together, but that didn’t mean they felt anything for each other. If Arthur had claimed it was for Merlin, the warlock would have called him a liar and left. But he had seen the fierce protectiveness burning in the man’s eyes, coupled with a hint of fear that Merlin knew was not normally expressed. Whoever Aredian was, this team was genuinely afraid of him. Considering the job they did and how many sorcerers they went up against, Merlin had to wonder just how bad the man could be.

After coming out of his sulk, he had refused to speak to the others, but did give Lancelot a nod of thanks when the man passed him a plate heaped with the Chinese takeaway the men were fighting over when he emerged from Arthur’s room. They barely spared him a second glace as Gwaine and Elyan started throwing noodles at each, and Merlin had just made himself as small as possible. As their antics had gotten worse – Leon tried to intervene, ended up being hit with a pillow and just joined in – Merlin had found himself smiling. Somehow he knew this was not the team the rest of the world saw, and felt strangely grateful that they would be prepared to let down their defences in front of their “prisoner”. He wasn’t watching an army unit, he was watching a family.

There had been something of an awkward moment when it had come to sleeping arrangements. The men had automatically claimed their spots and Arthur had headed towards his room -why his men let him get away being the only one with a bed, Merlin had no idea – when they all suddenly realised that he was still there. Honestly, Merlin hadn’t wanted to stay in the room with the men, not yet having that level of trust with them. He had looked towards Arthur, who seemed about to say yes, only for Leon to interfere again and claim it was a very bad idea. After a somewhat heated debate, Merlin had ended up on Arthur’s floor, after Arthur had been made to swear he would not let the warlock in his bed. Whether they thought Merlin would seduce him or kill him wasn’t made apparent, but Merlin didn’t mind too much. He had been given blankets and such like, and knew that he was no worse off than the others, Gwaine and Elyan also sleeping on the floor.

But now, Merlin found that he had been left in the flat on his own. The door had been firmly locked and Arthur had insisted on replacing some of the anti-magic bands. They all knew now that they couldn’t stop Merlin, if he wanted to use magic, then he could, regardless of their attempts to restrain his power. But it was more the point that Arthur had made, he didn’t want Merlin using magic. The blond didn’t seem to realise that Merlin had used it more in the last couple of days then he had for months. The last time he had given his power this much of a free reign was when he had moved to Camelot and didn’t want to carry all the boxes. He was still certain that his ear hurt from where his mother had cuffed him over the head in a mixture of anger and worry.

Letting a low whistle slide through his teeth, Merlin found that he was smirking slightly as he looked around the place. The team had to go into... wherever it was they had to go, Merlin wasn’t quite sure and knew that asking would get him no answers either. But without the mass of bodies taking up the place, Merlin suddenly realised quite what a mess the team was living in. He was by no means the tidiest of people, his own flat cluttered with his belongings. Yet this was worse somehow...dirty plates and mugs were strewn everywhere, half empty food containers littering the kitchen area. He didn’t know how they managed to live in conditions like this, and some part of him realised that they didn’t. This was just a base for them, the fact that it was the same flat Arthur had brought him back to before just being a mere coincidence. It was no more their home as it was Merlin’s, and the warlock knew that it was to do with the mess. No one could live like this.

Bored and finding that he had nothing else to do, Merlin found that he was picking up a mug without even thinking about it. Placing it slowly in the dishwasher (considering the state of the place, he really hadn’t been expecting them to actually have one), he began to think. If they were expecting him to stay here for at least a week if not more, he was not going to be staying in conditions like this. Especially as he had a feeling they wouldn’t exactly be letting him out often. Coming to a decision, Merlin crossed into Arthur’s room, drawing back the curtains and throwing open the windows. His mum had always claimed that letting some air in made such a difference, and breathing in deeply, Merlin found that he was believing her for the first time. Involuntarily, he found his eyes dropping down to the ground below, wondering whether it was a potential escape route should he need it. But the drop was high, and Merlin was turning away before his mind had fully dismissed the idea. The cuffs were the only thing that could stop his magic, he might as well walk out of the door rather than risk climbing out of the window.

Despite deciding to tidy the place up a bit, Merlin first of all walked over to the few drawers that lined Arthur’s wall. Rummaging through them, he tried not to notice the lack of personal belongings, but eventually stumbled across what he was looking for. Pulling out Arthur’s CD collection, he rolled his eyes and shook his head as he thumbed through them. All old and out of date, not to mention slightly obscure. But right at the bottom of the pile, Merlin found one that made him smile. One of his favourites. 

It took even longer to locate and then figure out how to work the CD player, but Merlin couldn’t resist cranking up the volume. He was beginning to understand why they wanted him to stay here for now, and knew that he had no choice but to trust them. If they were not the team to actually locate him, only bring him in, then he could be putting everyone and everything in danger by leaving, not just himself. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he didn’t want to put the team in danger. He knew they were only doing their job, but it had been seeing how protective and loyal they were to each other that had made him realise that this was all they knew. They were a family and were not prepared to let Merlin destroy that. It was exactly that attitude which gave him no desire to do so.

Humming to himself, Merlin began to move around the flat. The dishwasher was piled high and switched on, the rest of the things dumped in the sink for later. Merlin couldn’t help but wildly wonder where they kept it all when it was clean, but decided he would cross that bridge later. The food containers were emptied, the tops wiped down. After nearly an hour, the tiny kitchen was beginning to look a little more reasonable and Merlin couldn’t help but smile to himself. He had no desire to be cleaning up after them, but realised that he actually had nothing else to do other than sit there and sulk otherwise.

He moved steadily throughout the flat, knowing that it was going to take more than one day before it was habitable again. But he had still made progress, that had to mean something. The lounge was cleaned (as in, Merlin picked everything up and put it down again in a different place with the hope that it looked tidier, not even wanting to contemplate how something could get so dusty) and the next lot of dishes placed in the machine with the clean stacked to one side. It was only through exploring the kitchen that he found a washing machine in a cupboard – something he didn’t dare question. Mentally planning for a way to sort out whether they were as bad with their clothes as they were with crockery, Merlin suddenly froze.

“For fuck’s sake.” He moaned out loud, practically face-palming himself in the middle of the lounge. The cleanup had been a boredom reliever and an excuse to go rummaging through the cupboards to try and find out a bit more about this unit. He was not planning to stay around to see if they appreciated the tidiness or find out whether they needed clean clothes. He was making himself sound like a bloody nanny. They had made it quite apparent they could take care of themselves... Determined to not do another thing, Merlin gracefully plonked himself down on the sofa, sneezing at the cloud of dust that came out from it. Precisely how long had they been living like this for, anyway?

After only a few moments of impressively doing nothing, Merlin wrinkled his nose. Even with his feeble tidying attempts of just moving everything, there was a strange smell coming from the bins. The warlock swallowed hard. When he had glanced out of the window before, he had seen the bins down below, knew that all he would have to do was go down the stairs, sling the bag and he would be back up before anyone would even know he had left. Then getting the air into the room might actually do some good if it wasn’t battling with the smell of old food. Even so, Merlin found that his hands were shaking slightly as he climbed to his feet, glancing at his ankle as he did so. The band was hidden under his jeans, something that he was thankful for. Should he risk going out there for something as simple as getting rid of the bins? And if he managed that, why the hell should he come back up again?

Deciding that first of all, he just had to get out of the door, Merlin crossed the room once more and tied up the bag, throwing it over his shoulder as he did so. Steeling himself, he brought his power to the surface, letting his hand stretch out and point at the door. For some reason, his magic had been more in control than ever since he had been here, and Merlin was stubbornly refusing to think about what Gaius had said about trusting in his destiny whilst he had still be in the cells. It gave him an odd shiver that wasn’t exactly unpleasant and made him think of Arthur. It was beginning to get annoying. 

The beam of magic shot from his hand and Merlin felt a rush of pride as the lock on the door clicked up. There was a faint warmth coming from around his ankle and he knew that it was the band trying to react, but it could do nothing against the sheer power than ran through his veins. With the bag in one hand, Merlin pushed open the door, tentatively stepping out of the doorway. For some reason, he expected alarms to suddenly go off and the rest of the team to come swooping in, but nothing happened. Slowly, he took another step into the corridor, then another. When he had somehow reassured his hyperactive brain that nothing was going to happen, he moved swiftly to the stairs.

Running down them, Merlin managed to push his fears aside until he reached the back door of the block of flats. All he had to do was open it... then he could either get rid of the bin bag, or run for his life.

“Going somewhere?” The voice made him jump a foot in the air and Merlin would later vehemently deny the squeak that came out of his mouth. Why hadn’t his magic warned him? For sitting under the stairs, watching him with an amused expression and a book in his hand, was Lancelot.

“What are you doing here?” Merlin blurted out, not really thinking about what he was saying.

“I think the question should be what are you doing here, but if you must know, I was waiting for you to make an escape.” Merlin’s eyebrows shot up and he gaped at the man. Lancelot smiled, a friendly smile that somehow settled Merlin’s racing heart. “Elyan’s on the other door, Percival on the main entrance. We weren’t all needed at the meeting, Arthur, Leon and Gwaine can handle it. So?”

“So what?”

“Your turn. What are you doing trying to sneak out when Arthur told you to stay put?”

“Oh, so you always do what Arthur says then?” Merlin couldn’t stop the sarcasm escaping from him even as his brain mentally kicked his mouth. Having been caught out, he didn’t think insulting the man’s leader was necessarily the best idea he could have had. To his surprise, Lancelot chuckled, standing up and putting his book to one side.

“No. None of us do, especially not Gwaine. Unless it is something like this, in which case Arthur tends to be right and the consequences of disobeying him greater than he warned you about. You do not want Aredian to find you, trust me.” As Lancelot took a step forward, Merlin simply thrust the bin bag at him, causing the taller man to frown in confusion.

“You asked where I was going. If I’m not allowed out there, you can put your own bloody bins out for once.” With those words, Merlin sat down in Lancelot’s previous spot even as the man looked from the bag to Merlin and then back again. Finally, he started to laugh, disappearing out of the door towards the bins. It didn’t even occur to Merlin that that could have been his one chance to get away. Instead, he stayed where he was, waiting for the man’s return. It barely even took Lancelot two minutes before he was back again.

“Come on, let’s get you back upstairs before the others get back. What were you doing with the bins anyway?”

“Tidying up your hell hole.” Merlin responded flippantly, earning himself another laugh from the man, He couldn’t help but think that Lancelot might actually be alright, he seemed a genuinely friendly man. He allowed himself to be pushed towards the stairs, the pair falling into step as they climbed up to the flat.

“Sure you weren’t going to run?”

“You lot made it perfectly clear what would happen to me if I did that.” The teenager glanced down to where the bandages were more obvious now he had finally removed Arthur’s jacket. Absently, he fingered one of them, toying with the cuff. “Don’t think I’m quite ready for the great escape yet,” he finished quietly. He wasn’t going to admit that his arms hurt and he had no idea how to take care of cuts that could have potentially be life threatening. One thing he had gained from the unit was that they were not about to let him die. Lancelot didn’t seem to know how to answer that and they travelled the rest of the way in silence. Merlin couldn’t help but note that it didn’t seem to be an uncomfortable one though, but more like the ones he and Will had.

Will.

Damnit. Merlin sighed, running a hand over his face as he watched Lancelot open the door before stepping back to let Merlin enter first. His friend was no doubt tearing his hair out now that it had been a good few days since he had heard from his friend. Maybe he would talk to Arthur when he returned, find out if there was a way that a message could be passed over so that Will knew he was safe. Throwing himself down on the sofa, Merlin glanced at Lancelot quizzically as the man joined him.

“What did you mean about not wanting to disobey Arthur?” He had to admit, he was curious to find out what side of the commander his men saw when Arthur was relaxed. Merlin wanted to know if it was different to the man who had taken him home for the night. Lancelot tensed, looking for a moment like he was going to stand back up again and not answer any questions, but then he sagged.

“I lied to him once and it almost got me killed.”

“What?”

“I was a journalist before this. I was involved in a couple of stories regarding sorcerers, something had been leaked to us. The team was Arthur, Gwaine, Leon and Elyan at the time, I bumped into them a couple of times. Made up some story about working for the army when I caught a glimpse of a badge Arthur was wearing, and he actually trusted me. I thought it would be a good idea to follow them – until they had a run in with a griffin. They handled it, I bumbled straight in and nearly got Elyan killed. I ran, two sorcerers found me and thought I had information on the team. If Gwaine hadn’t kicked down my door to yell at me for hurting his friend, I probably would have been killed.”

“What happened then?” Merlin had to admit that he was intrigued. It didn’t occur to him that this might not have been the lifestyle that the men had originally chosen for themselves, that it could have just been a sheer chance meeting the same way it had for him that meant they were thrust into this stupidly crazy life.

“Arthur came to visit me in hospital. Said I obviously couldn’t publish what I had seen, that the army would stop me, but that he had a position in his team if I wanted it. Was apparently impressed with the way I had used technology and whatnot to track them down, and he could use someone like that.”

“Arthur was nice?!”

“He can be.” Lancelot said with a smirk, almost seeming to blink himself back into reality and giving Merlin a smirk. “Just don’t tell him I said that.”

“My lips are sealed.” The teenager responded with a grin of his own, swinging his feet up and causing them to land on the coffee table in front of him. It was the one part of the room he hadn’t touched, the files still littering it. For some reason, he didn’t want to see what a file had said about him. Lancelot seemed to read the expression on his face and opened his mouth, clearly to ask something. Merlin cut in first though.

“So it you were recruited, what about the others?”

“Why do you want to know?” Merlin sighed at the slight suspicion that seemed to flicker into the soldier’s gaze.

“You’re keeping me here, Lance. What’s wrong with wanting to know who my guards are.”

“Sorry, old habits and all that. You’re not the only one finding this weird and more than a little inconvenient.” The man huffed a long breath and Merlin could tell he had come to a decision when he settled deeper into the sofa, arms folded casually across his chest.

“Leon’s always been army as far as I know, I think he was the one to put Arthur through his paces. Gwaine’s army through and through, joined up after school, got into a fight with a sorcerer and got dumped on Arthur and Leon to have it explained to him. Elyan’s father is a weapons expert, him and his sister were raised in the barracks. Gwen took a different path, but Elyan just stayed. He and Arthur were friends when they were young, so when it was apparent that the team needed someone who knew their way around weapons, he was the obvious choice. Percival is our newest member...”

Lancelot broke off, clearly lost in another memory. Merlin forced himself to sit back on his seat, not even realising that he had been inching forward until now. What was it about this team that just made him want to know more, it was driving him mad. He didn’t want to care, didn’t want to give a damn about any of them, and yet, despite himself, he did.

“You might have noticed that he is the strong and silent type. I’m not sure what happened to him, I think Arthur is the only one who knows. He worked as a firefighter before, I can only assume not all of the fires were natural and he was exposed to magic that way. I do know that he lost his family in a blaze, but again, not sure on the details. Now, tea?” Over his couple of days with the team, Merlin had certainly learnt that whenever things got a little uncomfortable, Lancelot made tea.

The teenager nodded, staying where he was as the soldier moved off into the kitchen, although he couldn’t help but smirk at Lancelot’s whistle of disbelief at the fact that he had the choice of what mug to use rather than which one was clean.

“What’s Gwen like?”

There was a sharp intake of breath followed by the sound of someone putting a mug down hastily.

“Why?” There could be no denying that it was forced neutrality in Lancelot’s voice that just caused Merlin’s smirk to widen. “What makes you think I know?”

“The way your eyes softened when you said her name and there was a smile on your face that disappeared as soon as the conversation moved on.” The teenager responded casually, laughing openly as Lancelot reappeared, practically throwing Merlin’s mug at him. To say the man was blushing was an understatement. Merlin had been thinking that he seemed a soft-hearted type, and this reaction just proved his thoughts. If he hadn’t been sure that Lancelot had feelings for Gwen before, he was now. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to steal her.”

Lancelot didn’t look convinced even as he sat down next to Merlin once more, so the warlock nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.

“I fucked Arthur, remember?”

“Really? I would have thought that he fucked you.” Now it was Merlin’s turn to go bright red.

“We are SO not having this conversation.”

“Is it true that he is a gentle lover?”

“How the hell would you know that?” Both men blushing at the turn of conversation, the warlock and the soldier glanced at each other warily.

“Gwen.” Lancelot eventually sighed, lowering his gaze and staring into his drink. Merlin’s eyebrows disappeared once again. 

“You mean to say, her and Arthur..?”

“Yep.”

“And now her and you..?”

“Yep.”

“Wow.”

“Yep.” He had been after knowledge on them, that was for sure. But Merlin hadn’t quite expected that turn of events. It didn’t surprise him that Arthur didn’t have a type as such, with that kind of upbringing he would have been free to experiment, and being surrounded by fit army guys all day and night must have meant something. But to hear that he had been dumped (if it was that kind of relationship) for one of his own men...

“He let her go.” Lancelot seemed to know what Merlin was thinking. “He said he knew that I had strong feelings for her and that he was beginning to tell that she was returning them.”

“He put his men first?” Merlin asked softly, suddenly seeing a different side to the blond. He had given up someone he cared about in order to make sure that his own men were happy.

“He always does. Look, Merlin, I know he is an idiot...”

“I was more going for spoiled, arrogant brat, but fair enough....”

“...just don’t hurt him.”

“What? He doesn’t, I mean, we don’t... He doesn’t even like me! And I certainly don’t like him!”

“Really?” Lancelot said softly, and Merlin scowled. Damn this conversation for getting personal and awkward. He found Arthur attractive, sure, any teenager would. And the sex had been fantastic...but that wasn’t the point! The point was he was Arthur’s prisoner and there was no way in hell that he cared anything about him! Did he? He couldn’t deny that he felt drawn to the blond in a way that he couldn’t explain.

A hand suddenly dropped onto his shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“It’s okay. We don’t talk about relationships here, it’s too awkward. Gwaine will have anything that moves, Leon can be a prude and Percival lost his family and still won’t talk about it. I think he was married. Elyan has a massive crush on a girl called named Freya. Some sorcerer found out and cursed her for it, and it was only Arthur’s interference that stopped her becoming another of our targets.”

“Does he do that a lot? Try and help the people you hunt?”

“He believes in what we are doing – hunting down sorcerers who hurt people. If someone doesn’t fit that bill, Arthur turns a blind eye. He’s a good man.”

“I know.”

A silence fell over the two once more, until angry footsteps could be heard running up the stairs. Lancelot sighed.

“The others are back. Don’t tell them about this conversation? We’re a close-knitted bunch, they won’t like the fact that I’ve exposed their feelings to you.”

“I get it, don’t tell the warlock anything he could use against you.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Sorry.” Merlin let his sudden flare of temper disappear as quickly as it surfaced. Lancelot had been nothing but kind to him, it wasn’t fair to take out his frustrations over the situation (both his imprisonment and Arthur) on the man. “Fine, I won’t tell them if you don’t tell Arthur I left.”

“Deal.” Lancelot stood up and moved towards the door of the flat. Merlin, however, cleared his throat, looking at the man’s mug meaningfully. 

“I didn’t spend all morning clearing up so you could be a messy bastard now.” Lancelot looked shocked, and then suddenly snorted with amusement, picking up his cup and carrying it through to the kitchen. He dumped it on the side, caught Merlin’s look and put it in the sink. Merlin’s grin suddenly turned bright and sunny and Lancelot rolled his eyes, cuffing him lightly over the head to unlock the door and let the others in.

Gwaine was in almost before the door was open. He stormed in, completely ignored Lancelot and Merlin, slammed the door to the bathroom open and disappeared inside. Arthur was in next, also ignoring the two occupants and was soon wrenching on the door.

“Stop acting like a toddler, Gwaine, you knew this could happen! Get your arse out here!”

Whilst Arthur proceeded to yell, Leon walked calmly in, Elyan and Percival clearly having been summoned as they too turned up.

“What’s going on?” Merlin muttered to Lancelot, watching as Arthur finally managed to disappear into the bathroom. The shouting continued, but the words were muffled.

“We’ve got a job,” Lancelot muttered back, knowing that only one thing could get them this worked up. It had always been an issue over whether the person they were after was dangerous and could result in them getting hurt, but it was clear to Merlin that he had complicated the matter further. It wasn’t as straight forward as seeing a sorcerer and catching them anymore.

“...and if you don’t calm down, I’ll have you sit this one out for being too close to the job.” With a final yell, Arthur walked out, shrugging off Leon’s hand and disappearing into his own bedroom. Neither man emerged again.

“Who is it?” Elyan asked softly, walking over to Leon and frowning quizzically.

“Dagr. He got out again, he’s around here somewhere.” Merlin had come to consider Elyan being the mild one of the group, and so was more than shocked by the choice of words that came out of his mouth.

“No wonder Gwaine isn’t happy...” He muttered, moving to knock slightly on the door.

“Who?”

“You know I said Gwaine joined after fighting a sorcerer? It was Dagr, the man beat him within an inch of his life whilst posing as someone Gwaine used to know.”

Merlin didn’t know what to say to that. This was obviously an ongoing problem, and he just sat back in the sofa and watched as the team tried to pull themselves together. When it was clear that Percival and Elyan were trying to get into the bathroom, Merlin frowned. No one, not even Leon, was attempting to get through to Arthur. Standing up, he made his own way across.

“He’ll have blocked the door.”

“Not to me.” With a flash of his eyes, Merlin flung open the door, slipping in and shutting it again behind him. Arthur was sitting on his bed, head in his hands and the tension obvious across his shoulders. Merlin locked the door again and moved across until he was sitting on the floor in front of the commander.

“Want to talk?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Destiny is a tricky mistress.

Arthur sat down heavily on the end of his bed, letting his head drop into his hands. After a moment, he rolled his neck, trying to alleviate some of the tension he could feel building there as he listened to Percival trying to coax Gwaine into opening the bathroom door. He couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt from bubbling uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. He was supposed to be the one to protect these men, not allow them to go face to face with their worst nightmare, the one thing that made their world come crashing down around them.

 

 _Damn Uther._ Arthur couldn’t help but think bitterly, instantly blaming his father. The meeting had been interesting to say the least. When Arthur had taken the phone call that morning, his heart had been pounding hard and for the first time in years, he felt nervous. After enquiring about how he was feeling – the only sign Arthur had that Uther had turned up when the spell had taken its toll, he couldn’t remember much – Uther had gone on to say that a recurring problem had arisen. Knowing that the enquiry into his health had been the general’s way of finding out whether Arthur was fit for duty, the commander had stayed quiet. It was apparent that this was nothing to do with the fact they had the escaped warlock in their flat, but just a routine job.

 

After selecting who was coming with him – something that he now regretted – and who was to stay and watch Merlin, Arthur had taken the remaining three aside. He didn’t want them to literally stay in the flat, but just surround the building. He wanted to know what Merlin would do if he thought the rest of them had gone. Nothing had been said when they had returned, but between him and Gwaine acting out, it wasn’t as if they had really been given the opportunity. But still, there had been the fact that Lancelot had returned upstairs, and Arthur couldn’t help but note that things had been moved around. Not in the sense that someone had been looking for something, but in a way that seemed to indicate that someone had been trying to clear up a little. Even just thinking it now made a wry smile cross Arthur’s face. There was something different about Merlin, that was for sure.

 

But Merlin’s strange characteristics didn’t stop the guilt that he was feeling over Gwaine. He knew what Darg had done to his soldier. Gwaine had always been a good fighter, for someone to hurt him that much meant they had been ruthless. But it wasn’t the physical injuries that had made Gaius so worried those few years ago. At least with Gwaine having already been in the army, a doctor who knew how to deal with magic was on hand without having to explain it to anyone else. Gwaine had withdrawn, for ages just muttering “he wouldn’t,” to himself. It was only later they discovered the magical crystals the man had used to change his appearance. Gwaine had been on a patrol around the cells, even if he hadn’t known what lay within at the time. Darg had attacked, wanting something within, but had used the form of Gwaine’s older brother to do so. Needless to say, the effect on Gwaine had been alarming, but once he had understood the magic – picking it up amazingly quickly in all reality – he had moved on swiftly and become a key member of their team. Nothing focused a man so much as the prospect of revenge, and whilst Arthur had gone through a stage of being worried it would consume Gwaine, he had been mistaken. Once Darg was safely locked up, Gwaine had become invaluable.

 

His sigh of frustration lost in his hands, Arthur didn’t hear the door open somewhat violently, or be gently shut as someone moved into the room. In a way, Arthur felt that he should be on his guard considering there was a warlock staying with them, but he couldn’t bring himself to see Merlin as a threat. Whether it was because of the teenager’s promise outside of the club that he never used his magic to hurt anyone, or whether it was more his actions were backing that up. He only had one band on; something that they knew from experience wouldn’t stop him. And yet he had done nothing to try and get away from them, nothing that indicated that he hadn’t been telling the truth before. With that in his mind, Arthur couldn’t keep his guard up. This flat was their sanctuary. He knew he had jeopardised that when he gave the order for Merlin to be brought back here, but now things seemed to be working out as well as possible, he refused to treat the rooms like just another base. Regardless of what everyone else thought, this was his home, here with the clutter, the mess and his men.

  
“Want to talk?”

 

Arthur would vehemently deny that the voice made him jump. He was a commander in a specialist unit, he had been trained how to hide his reactions. So whilst it looked like he was simply raising his head, Arthur was inwardly trying to calm his racing heart, trying to pretend that he had heard Merlin come in. The youth was sitting in front of him cross legged on the floor, his expression inquisitive. If Arthur wasn’t mistaken, there was a touch of concern in his face too. Didn’t he know that when Arthur took to his room like that, it tended to mean that he was to be left alone? There were so many things unspoken between him and his unit, things that they would just do without thinking about it, it seemed strange that those customs might have to be explained to an outsider.

 

“Go away, Merlin.” Keeping his head in his hands, Arthur refused to acknowledge the teenager was there. Maybe if he ignored him, he would just go away?

 

“And there I was, thinking that you were the caring type.” Arthur finally lifted his head to glare at the warlock in disbelief, only to find Merlin smirking at him. The brat, that was what he had been after the whole time, for Arthur to react to him. And damnit, Arthur had done just that.

 

“Why the hell would you think that?” The commander drawled out, determined to try and save face to at least a small degree. He wouldn’t let Merlin undermine everything, no matter how large and wide his vibrantly blue eyes were, nor the way he seemed to just look a picture of innocence sitting on Arthur’s floor, despite what he was capable of. Groaning, Arthur let himself fall backwards onto the bed, throwing one arm over his eyes to try and make the point that he wanted to be left alone. Not to mention he was trying to banish the thoughts that were now racing through his head, and maybe if he wasn’t looking at the object of those thoughts, it would be a lot easier.

 

“Because you don’t seem like the sort who would upset one of their men and then leave them to stew whilst you hid away and sulked.”

  
Could the boy just no shut up?

 

“I thought I told you to go away.”  
  


“Yes, _Sir_.” Merlin still had that infernal grin on his face, Arthur could just picture it. Hearing a rustle, he lifted his arm slightly to see that Merlin had sat back against the wall, still watching the commander. It was more than apparent he had no intention of leaving, no matter what Arthur said to him.

  
“What do you want from me, Merlin?” Arthur asked quietly. It was clear that no one had sent Merlin in here, they wouldn’t have dared. Which means he had brought himself, yet for the life of him, Arthur couldn’t figure out why.

  
“Well, apart from letting me go..?”  
  


“Not happening.”  
  
“Then I want to know why you are in here. C’mon, Arthur, I’ve been with you two days now. You do everything together, you and your team. Hell, I swear that you and Gwaine could be meerkats the way the two of you do things so in sync. I don’t understand why you are in here when it is clear that something is bothering him.” Arthur lifted himself up onto his elbows to look at Merlin. For a moment, the teenager held his gaze and then glanced away, his ears going slightly pink.

 

Arthur rolled his eyes. He knew that Lancelot would have ended up having a chat with the warlock; the man was too nice for his own good. Normally, it was invaluable; he was great as a negotiator. But Arthur could just tell that Merlin wasn’t quite telling the truth. He wasn’t able to tell through the fact that he had been with them for two days. He could tell because someone had told him something, something that would make him believe that there was more to Arthur than the commander had been showing. Considering Lancelot had been in the room when they had arrived back, and Arthur knew his men better than he knew himself meant there was only one conclusion he could draw. Lancelot had been talking. But Arthur couldn’t find it in him to feel the slightest bit angry. He knew the man wouldn’t give anything away, and none of them as of yet knew how long they would be stuck with Merlin for. Maybe it was for the best that he knew them on a more personal level? One thing was for sure though; Merlin knew more than he was letting on.

 

In a way, the commander was impressed. This wasn’t the first time that he was hiding how much he knew about something, and it was only because he was looking for the signs did Arthur even see it himself. It was like Merlin knew how important it was to keep some things secret, but considering the power he had running through him, Arthur wasn’t surprised. In today’s world, he couldn’t go around showing off that he was a sorcerer. Or warlock, whatever.

  
“It’s my fault that he is angry.” Arthur was almost as surprised as Merlin when the words started coming from his mouth. Even Leon couldn’t get him to open up if Arthur didn’t want to; it was why no one had followed him in here. They would be met with a stony silence and a dismissive attitude that would have them running from the room about a second after they had stepped into it.

   
“Bullshit.”

 

“It’s true.”

 

“How is it your fault?” Arthur groaned again, sitting up properly so that he could glare at Merlin. Why did he have to make things so complicated, why did he have to make Arthur go into detail about why this entire mess was thanks to him?

 

“I accepted the order to go after him again. Hang on, why am I even talking to you about this? You don’t even know who we are talking about.”

 

The flush that spread over Merlin’s face confirmed that Lancelot had indeed been talking. How else would Merlin know that it was the mission that had Gwaine worked up and not just an argument the pair of them had had.

 

“Merlin, why do you even care?”  The commander didn’t mean for the words to come out so bitterly, but it had been a long time since he had been met with a teenager who just wouldn’t give up. Arthur wasn’t quite sure how he was supposed to be dealing with this, not considering the treacherous thoughts that were still buzzing around his head in regards to Merlin. The warlock didn’t look like he had an answer to that question, but instead shrugged and fixed his gaze on something that was specifically not Arthur.  
  
“Who said I did?”  
  
“You did.” The commander shot back, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched the youth. Merlin appeared to be an open book – until one realised that the page they were viewing was one he had specifically chosen. He let himself appear to be open and easy going, revealing all in one glance. But then, on a second viewing, you caught the words between the lines, the things he was not saying, things that he was keeping hidden away. And Arthur was on his second viewing, even if his men were only on their first. He could see in Merlin’s eyes that he did care; despite he was effectively their prisoner. And damn it, Arthur had caught sight of the blush on Lance’s face as they walked in. His men were beginning to care back.

 

“Do you believe in destiny?” If Merlin hadn’t been looking at him before, it was barely a patch on what he was doing now, obviously staring in the opposite direction. Arthur blinked, ready to make some flippant comment, but found that the words died on his tongue as he started at the teenager who had disrupted everything he thought he knew. He had no idea where that turn of conversation had come from, but couldn’t deny that it was making his heart pound in a way that had never happened before.

  
“What?” Instead of rude, Arthur’s voice came out as something almost hesitant. This time, when Merlin avoided his eyes, it wasn’t because he was lying, but because he didn’t seem sure of what he was saying. Not to mention there appeared to be a hint of embarrassment lingering, as if he didn’t know how Arthur would react to what he was saying.

 

“Gaius said I should trust in my destiny when I was back in the cells.” Arthur made some sort of movement, although what he was about to do, even he didn’t know. Comfort wasn’t exactly his strongest point; his whole team could vouch for that. Luckily, before things got awkward for either of them, the commander managed to catch himself and pull back.  He just hadn’t been able to stop a flash of guilt from running through him when he thought about Merlin in the cells. He knew that it wasn’t his fault that the teenager had been placed in with two sadistic bastards, but he had still ignored the warlock’s attempts to explain, still ordered his team to drop him off.

 

“And then you came.”

  
“But...wait, what?!” Arthur had an argument on the tip of his tongue to explain Gaius’ love of things that didn’t quite make sense. But instead, he found himself sitting up straighter, staring at the warlock. Merlin finally caught Arthur’s gaze and held it. Although his eyes were earnest, a deep blush was spreading across his cheeks and down his neck. “What the hell do I have to do with any of it? You have your destiny, that’s fine by me. But leave me out of it, Merlin.”

 

“I can’t help it! Whenever I think of destiny, your bloody face comes into my mind.” Merlin grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and trying to glare at Arthur. The effect was somewhat lost considering that he was still blushing furiously. “I was thinking about what he was saying about destiny, for some god forsaken reason ended up thinking of you...and then you came.”

  
His tone started off sounding annoyed, like it was Arthur’s fault that he had been the first person to come to mind (something that Arthur was not going to comment on, for he wasn’t yet sure how that was making him feel), but finished off quietly, sounding more like his age than Arthur had heard him for days.

  
“Do you think it could be true?”  
  
“Destiny? Us? Get real, Merlin.” Arthur scoffed. He had been raised to believe that a man made his own destiny. He did not like the idea that something was out there controlling what he was doing, especially not with the job that he had. To think of destiny made him just automatically think of magic, something controlling and dominate, it always had. But the smirk slipped from his face as he glanced at Merlin again. He had thought about destiny before, Merlin was not the only one Gaius had said things like this to. But for the first time, he wasn’t just thinking about magic in general. He was thinking of something that was magic, far more magical than anything Arthur had ever experienced before two days ago.

 

He was thinking of Merlin. But not of the frightened teenager he had cuffed to his bed. He was thinking of Merlin the first time they had met, the way they had moved together, how Merlin was all long limbs and wiry muscle that seemed to give him a hidden strength. Once again, Arthur realised that he was on his second viewing of the mystery Merlin was. Of course, now he knew that the hidden strength was the magic humming through his body, but the first time around...  
  
“Stop thinking about me, Arthur.” The sarcastic note was back in Merlin’s voice and Arthur coughed hastily, feeling how his cheeks were burning. Great, now he was the one blushing like the bloody teenager. Not really knowing what to say that wouldn’t just add to his humiliation, Arthur reached behind him and grabbed a pillow. With one swift movement of his arm, he flung forward, throwing the pillow straight at Merlin. His aim was true – as he knew it would be – and the pillow hit the teenager square in the face.

  
Merlin gaped as the cushion came to fall into his lap. He met Arthur’s eyes and seemed to see the challenge sparkling within. He picked up the pillow and threw it back as hard as he could. It flopped at the bottom of the bed and landed back on the floor. Arthur couldn’t help it, he snorted slightly.

 

“That was pathetic.” He muttered, turning his back on Merlin as he made to climb off the bed. Never before had someone been able to break him out of his mood before, but Arthur felt the sudden desire to check on Gwaine. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t sure what he would do if the conversation with Merlin continued in the manner it had, or whether it was because he just felt ready to face the rest of them again. Before he could go even climb off properly, something smacked him over the back of the head before the pillow came to rest neatly back in its proper position.

  
Arthur turned just in time to see the gold flare leaking back into blue within Merlin’s eyes. The warlock suddenly seemed to realise what he had done, horror flooding his expression as he almost seemed to try and back away from Arthur, regardless of the fact that he had already been pressed against the wall.

  
“I...I...I should just, um...maybe...you...” Rolling his eyes, Arthur finally left the bed. But rather than heading towards the door, he found himself crouched in front of Merlin, taking the teenager’s wrists in a tight grip as Merlin tried to push him away.

 

“Merlin.”  
  


“I just...didn’t think, I...”

 

“Merlin, stop it.” There was a firmness to his voice that even Gwaine obeyed, and it came as no surprise when Merlin’s ramblings stopped and he looked up at Arthur with wide eyes. It reminded the commander of a rabbit caught in the headlights. It was more than obvious that Merlin hadn’t meant to use magic, and was now seriously panicking about the fact that he had. Arthur refused to think about the band on the warlock’s ankle. The power within that device had been enough to contain most of their prisoners before, and yet Merlin had used magic so instinctively, almost as if he had forgotten that he even had it on. Arthur wondered briefly whether that was the case, but then felt which direction Merlin’s hands were pulling in. One was trying to go down to his foot. Shifting, Arthur pinned his wrists in one hand and grabbed Merlin’s chin with the other.

  
“Stop fighting me, just relax. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

“I used magic. You told me not too...”

 

“You were really going to listen to me?” If that was true, it was far from what Arthur had been expecting. He would have thought that Merlin would have been fighting him every step of the way, not actually being prepared to listen to what he said. Either that, or they had truly managed to scare the boy in regards to what Aredian would be like if Merlin was caught.  
  


“... I used it against you. I swore that I would never use it to hurt anyone.”

 

Arthur couldn’t help it this time. He simply burst out laughing, effectively shutting Merlin up far quicker than his attempts at reassurances had done. Merlin snapped his mouth shut, looking at Arthur in an almost hurt manner for a moment.

  
“You think throwing a pillow at me was going to hurt me?”  
  


“It’s the principal of the matter.” Merlin argued, his eyes sparking in defiance.

  
“Why are you even arguing with me? Shouldn’t you be the one saying that it wouldn’t have hurt, that I don’t have any reason to be afraid of you, not claiming that you could have hurt me and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

 

“I... are you really afraid of me?”  
  
“Shut up.” Now it was Arthur’s turn to avoid Merlin’s eyes even as he carried on holding onto his wrists. Merlin had stopped pulling away, but yet Arthur hadn’t let go. Neither did Merlin look as if he wanted him to let go.

  
“You should be afraid, you know. I could turn you all into frogs in my sleep.” Merlin’s voice was barely more than a whisper and Arthur could hear as well as see him swallow hard. It seemed all this talk of destiny was going straight to his head. Arthur told himself firmly that he was going to keep his mind clear, even if being those close to Merlin was ceasing all ability to think straight.

  
“Is frogs really the most threatening thing you can come up with?” Arthur replied, but it was a far leap from his normal tone. Unable to stop himself, his eyes darted from Merlin’s eyes to his lips and back again. The warlock was staring at him intently.

  
“They’re cute.”  
  
“Is that your way of saying that I’m cute?”

 

“No.” Arthur felt something cold settle in the pit of his stomach and he made to draw back, wondering what the hell he was doing. Merlin’s hand moved so fast he barely even saw it, pulling from Arthur’s hold and then snapping around the commander’s own wrist. It was by no means a strong hold, but the message was clear. Merlin didn’t want him pulling away. “I think you’re gorgeous.”

 

“Merlin...” Arthur knew this was a bad idea, knew that he had to pull away, get some space and hopefully a door in between the two of them before he did something that he would regret. But as Merlin’s grip on his wrist tightened, Arthur knew he had a bigger problem. He knew that he wouldn’t regret it.

  
“Shut up,” Merlin whispered, his free hand snaking around the back of Arthur’s neck and pulling him closer until their foreheads were touching. “Just shut up.”  
  
Whatever Arthur was going to say in response was lost as another set of lips suddenly pressed against his. A muffled noise of surprise escaped him, but Merlin ignored it, tentatively nipping at Arthur’s bottom lip until he surrendered into the kiss. For a commander who believe that he had nerves of steel and could control himself in any situation, Arthur was ashamed at how easily he gave into it, letting Merlin’s probing tongue slide forward.

 

After what felt like an eternity, the warlock finally pulled away, grinning as Arthur’s eyes slowly opened again. He didn’t even remember closing them, yet suddenly Merlin’s grinning face was swimming in his vision once more.

  
“Destiny.” The warlock whispered, looking rather satisfied with himself. Arthur surged forward, pinning him against the wall and completely crowding Merlin.

  
“Don’t you dare bring Gaius into this...” He mumbled, eyes locked on Merlin’s now red lips. They turned upwards in the beginning of a smirk, and Arthur closed the remaining distance between them. He was determined to wipe that look off Merlin’s face, and had just the way to do it.

 

MMM

 

“Arthur? Are you still alive in there, it’s been hours.” Breathing in deeply, Arthur let his eyes open, blinking at his ceiling for a moment. Letting his head roll to the side, he caught sight of his clock and realised that it had been approximately three hours since he had shut himself in his room. Feeling a heavy weight (although not an uncomfortable one) resting on his chest, Arthur looked down.

  
Not. Good.

 

Merlin’s head was resting on his chest, curled up to Arthur’s side with a content smile on his face as he all but snuggled in. At Arthur’s movement, he let out a slight whine, tightening his grip possessively, but not waking up. Automatically, Arthur found his fingers brushing across the back of Merlin’s shoulders, marvelling at how pale his skin was.

 

As soon as he registered the thought, Arthur leapt backwards. His _bare_ skin. Merlin was wearing no more than he was, both sprawled across Arthur’s bed in a tangle of limbs where they were still wrapped up in one another.

 

“A’thur?” Merlin’s voice was lined with sleep and confusion as he glanced up at the blond. Arthur refused to think about how endearing the small smile that crossed his face was as Merlin realised that Arthur was still holding him. As Merlin dropped a small kiss to the bottom of Arthur’s throat, he gave in and kissed him back.

  
“Arthur?!”  
  
“Alright, Elyan!” Arthur managed to pull back long enough to yell back to his men, knowing that they were going to break the door down if he didn’t respond soon, inwardly wincing at how hoarse his voice sounded. Merlin laughed softly, beginning to kiss a line down Arthur’s stomach, but the commander reached out a hand and stopped him.

  
“We can’t. This didn’t happen, okay?”  
  
“Just like the first time didn’t happen either?” Merlin responded softly, his eyes glinting as he looked up at Arthur from his new position.

  
“I’m serious, Merlin. Move. This compromises everything.”  
  
“You can’t escape destiny, Arthur.” The commander groaned, both through Merlin moving again and his words. It certainly seemed like destiny was out to get him.

  
“No. I mean it. A few days from now we are getting you out and you’ll never see any of us again.” _Never see me again,_ he added mentally, but didn’t want Merlin pouting any more than he already was. “I’m supposed to be in control, supposed to be protecting my men, not...”  
  
“Not sleeping with the enemy.” Merlin grumbled irritably, sitting up and clearly looking like he was going to climb off the bed. Arthur couldn’t help but let his eyes move appreciatively, before he caught himself and pointedly looked in the opposite direction. He didn’t even know why he had let it happen. Maybe he had been so caught up in his guilt over making Gwaine angry that he had been determined to forget for a few hours. He reached out a hand to stop Merlin from moving.

 

Unfortunately, Arthur had not yet realised just how clumsy the warlock was. Instead of simply being stopped by Arthur’s hand on his arm, Merlin let out a yelp and tried to pull away. His foot was still entangled with Arthur’s leg though, so instead of jumping off the bed, he flailed wildly for a moment before falling down with a thump and an audibly “oof.” The door opened at exactly the same time.

  
“Oh.”  
  
Arthur shut his eyes. Leon was the last person he had wanted to walk in whilst Merlin was currently lying on top of him, their attire making it clear what had really been going on in the room. It especially wasn’t helped by the way Merlin had begun to shake with silent laughter, clearly believing that Arthur deserved for this to happen considering his dismissive attitude from before. The commander shut his eyes and let his head fall back with a groan, even as he felt Merlin trying to subtly tug the covers up over them.

  
He was so screwed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some talks that are better done in private.

“I can explain...” Not being sure what he was even going to say, Arthur shoved Merlin off him. The warlock, however, was not going to go down easily and even as he rolled off the commander, he made sure that his grip on the covers didn’t slack. As he moved, so did they. Arthur steadily held Leon’s gaze even as he could feel his cheeks colouring.

  
“You have five seconds.” Leon said somewhat coldly, pointedly turning his back. Knowing that when his right hand man said five seconds, he meant it, Arthur scrambled out of bed. He literally had time to pull on some underwear and a pair of jeans before Leon grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the lounge. Gwaine glanced up. He had finally come out of the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the sofa, although it did look like Percival’s bulky presence was the only thing keeping him there and stopping the soldier from bolting. He would never admit to the fear that had coursed through him at hearing that Darg was out lose again, but nor did he have to. The men he lived and worked with not only knew, they completely understood. Whilst the team would tease each other over everything and anything, there were some things that none of them would dream of making a joke about.  
  


Seeing Arthur being almost frogmarched into the room, he attempted to offer a feeble smile, an apology for the way he had reacted before.

 

“Breaking your own rules, are you?” He muttered, nodding towards Arthur and drawing attention to the fact that he was topless.

  
“You should be grateful he is wearing what he is.” Leon practically snarled, shoving his commander down onto the chair and standing in front of him, arms folded. “Do you love him?”  
  
“Excuse me?!” Judging by the shadow of a smirk that crossed Gwaine’s face, Arthur knew that the man had noticed the way his voice had seemed to risen in pitch as he tried to get back up again. One look at Leon’s face had him sinking down though. There was a reason why the man was Arthur’s second in command. Having helped introduce Arthur into their lifestyle, Leon had no qualms about telling their leader what he thought. Gwaine would if he was mocking the blond, but would never do it with the sincerity Leon would when something was really wrong.

  
“Or was it just another casual fuck that didn’t mean anything.”  
  
“Oh.” Percival’s eyes widened as he glanced at Arthur’s half-dressed appearance and then towards the bedroom door where his commander had disappeared over three hours ago. That would explain why Merlin hadn’t been thrown out in the way the rest of them were.

 

“There was nothing casual about it, it was amazing.” A voice came floating through as Merlin appeared. Arthur glanced up and frowned.

  
“That’s mine.” He protested, gesturing towards the hoody Merlin was practically swamped in. The warlock simply shrugged, grinning at him in a way that had Arthur’s stomach clenching. It hadn’t meant anything, he couldn’t afford for it to mean anything.

  
“I’ve been stuck in my stuff for three days, I wanted a change.” Merlin commented lightly, moving further into the room and perching on the edge of the arm, his whole body language completely and utterly relaxed. Arthur felt his frown deepen slightly as he glanced up at the teenager. He himself was worried about how his men were going to be reacting to this, yet Merlin was acting as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Their eyes met for a brief moment and Arthur felt himself swallowing hard at the anger in Merlin’s expression. It wasn’t because of what they had done; it was the way that Arthur was trying to pretend it hadn’t happened. The commander wondered whether it meant more to Merlin than it had to him, but then realised that he had a problem right there. He had no idea what it had just meant to him, and that was scaring him. Everything before had been casual, his acquaintances of the past could never know what he really did as a job, meaning there were automatic boundaries. But Merlin had known, hell, he was technically on the other side to the commander and that hadn’t stopped him.

  
“Besides, makes me feel like you’re holding me.” Merlin’s voice went soppy and he leant over and kissed Arthur gently, causing Gwaine to burst out laughing. Everyone in the room could tell that the warlock didn’t mean it, his abrupt attitude from before showing that he was not the one for romantic gestures in a situation like this. It was more than apparent to the men that he was attempting to make Arthur squirm, and considering the glare on the commander’s face, it was working. As Elyan and Percival shared small smiles, Leon continued to frown.

 

“Go back into the bedroom, Merlin, this is nothing to do with you.”  
  
“It’s everything to do with me! That’s the problem!” Merlin protested, standing up again even as Percival made to rise.

  
“Go back into the room or so help me, I’ll cuff you. Lance, guard him.”  
  
“Against what? My amazing powers of seduction?” Merlin grumbled, turning to head back into the room. Lancelot stood up, sighing and shooting Arthur an apologetic look even as he followed Merlin back into the bedroom and shut the door behind them.

  
“That was cruel.” The commander muttered, unable to believe he had just heard Leon threaten to cuff Merlin for not doing as he was told.

  
“And using him like that wasn’t?” The taller man ran a hand over his face before dragging it through his curly hair, sighing heavily even as he sat down. “You three, go for a run.”  
  


“And miss all the fun? Aww, come on, Leo...”

  
“Now, Gwaine.” Leon snapped, and Arthur knew in that one word that this was about more than the fact his friend had walked in on him in a compromising position. They had lived together for years – first in the barracks and now here. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before, after all.

  
“Go on.” Arthur nodded softly. Whilst Gwaine might have protested against Leon giving him an order, there was no way he was about to go against Arthur, not with how he had behaved earlier. Sighing, he stood up at the same time as the other two. All had been ready for action the second the group got back from their meeting with Uther, none needed to change. The door seemed to bang and echo mysteriously in the now silent flat as Leon just looked long and steadily at Arthur.

 

“What is going on with you, kid?”  
  


“It’s been years since you called me that.”  
  


“That’s because I haven’t needed to. You have always been so sure of yourself to dress down. But this, Arthur? This isn’t like you, what’s happening?”

  
“I just slept with him, it’s not like I want to marry him!” Arthur felt himself blushing even as Leon just continued to steadily watch him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone this red, he normally had such control over his emotions. Ironically, he thought the last time might have been when he was fourteen and Gaius had given him “the talk.”

 

“Arthur, you’re changing everything for him.”  
  
“Am not!”  
  
“Just hear me out. You slept with him, fine. We all have needs, I’m not denying that. But after Gwen... you swore that you would never go with the same person twice, you would never allow yourself to get close to anyone again. The others think you might have been okay giving her up to Lance, and no one can deny they suit each other. But you can’t fool me, Sir. I saw the hurt in your eyes, the way you suddenly became more and more determined to get the job done.”  
  
Arthur didn’t say anything, but instead just studied the pattern in great depth of the chair that he was sitting on. He wanted to deny it, pretend that Leon was just seeing things. But out of all of his men, Leon was the one who truly did know him the best. It came as no surprise that he was seeing what Arthur thought he had kept so hidden.

 

“It was only twice. And it won’t happen again.”  
  
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Leon had sat back, but whilst still watching the younger man with an expression that made Arthur want the chair to just swallow him whole.

  
“I’m not.”  
  
“We’re getting him out next week, right? As soon as we know Aredian won’t track it back to us?” Arthur frowned, wondering where this change in conversation had come from, but tentatively nodded. He didn’t know what Leon was getting at, but something made him feel that it wasn’t going to end well for him.

 

“How will that make you feel?”  
  
“Relieved.”  
  


“Why?” Arthur gaped, feeling like he was being interrogated. But one look at Leon’s face made him sigh. Just like with any other interrogation, there was no way that he was leaving the room until his second in command got the answers that he wanted. The problem was, Arthur didn’t know what they were. He couldn’t say things he didn’t mean because he knew that Leon would be able to see straight through him. Normally, he loved the fact that someone knew him so well, but now, it was just damn uncomfortable.

  
“Because he’ll no longer be our responsibility.” Much as he was trying to sound firm, Arthur was more than aware that his words came out more as a question than a statement.

 

“Why will you be relieved, Arthur?” It was clear Leon was not happy with the answer, and Arthur paused for a moment before responding, thinking. When he had the answer, he looked up, and found Leon smiling at him sympathetically. Much as he might have been playing the “bad guy” role, Arthur knew the man was only trying to do what was best for Arthur and to keep him safe.

 

“Why?”  
  
“Because he’ll be safe.” Arthur practically whispered, feeling utterly mortified. Why did he even care? Merlin had just been a nuisance ever since Arthur had first set eyes on him across the dance floor all those months ago and the teenager had smiled invitingly.

  
“If you hadn’t found out about warlocks, would you have wanted to go back for him?”

 

“I don’t know.”  
  
“And if you did find out, but it wasn’t Merlin, just some other person we had picked up, would you have gone back?”  
  
“I don’t know, Leon! I don’t see what your point is!”  
  
“My point, sir,” Leon leant forward, looking Arthur directly in the eye. “Is that you do care for him, whether you are going to admit it to yourself or not. I’ve never seen you like this with anyone. He challenges you, he’s not afraid of you and let me guess, he took the lead there?”  
  
“It was kind of mutual.” Arthur muttered, once more going back to studying his feet and feeling like a scolded schoolboy. Only Leon and Gaius could make him feel like this, not even his father had that much authority over him.

  
“But you didn’t stop him, you let it happen. Gwen followed you like a lamb, put up with your moods and let you do whatever you wanted. It’s why Lancelot is so much better for her, they are an actual partnership. You didn’t have that with her. I hate to say it, but even though he has only been here a couple of days and you were unconscious for some of that time and he was injured for the rest of it... you do have that with him. You have some sort of mutual understanding – both of you could kill the other in a blink of an eye. But for some bizarre reason, you trust each other.”  
  
“I don’t!”  
  
“No? So why has he only got one band on that we both know will do no good whatsoever rather than the cuffs that are the one thing that could actually restrict his power and potentially be the only thing stopping him from killing us all?”

  
Arthur had no answer. He just gaped at Leon; feeling like the world had just opened up under his feet. How the hell could he care about someone he didn’t know, how could he trust Merlin when the teenager had more power than anyone Arthur had ever encountered? Leon’s smile softened even more.

  
“What do I do?” Arthur whispered, somehow desperate to get back in control. How could this have happened, how could he have slipped in order to let Merlin under his defences? It had never happened before. Even with Gwen, he had kept her at a distance, it had proved to be their undoing. And yet Merlin had just wormed his way in, despite the fact that he should still be locked in a cell somewhere and Arthur should be focusing all of his attention on going after Darg.

 

“Honestly? I have no idea.” Leon finally sat back, laughing slightly as he did so. “I didn’t expect you to listen to me for that long, let alone realise the point I was trying to make. Like I said, I’ve never seen you like that before. But in my experience...”  
  
“Do you have any?” Arthur muttered teasingly, grinning as Leon kicked him in retaliation. They both knew he didn’t mean anything by it; it was just Arthur’s attempt to get back on more common ground, some topic that didn’t leave him feeling about twelve again.

  
“Watch it, kid. What I was going to say is that I think you should talk to him.” Arthur glanced towards his shut bedroom door, wondering about the conversation happening within or whether they would just be sitting in silence. Somehow, he doubted it, he had seen the grin on Lancelot’s face when they had arrived back. His soldier was somehow making friends with Merlin. It was going to be harder and harder to get the teenager out if they carried on this way. He wasn’t even sure he could count on Gwaine with this one, he had seen the way the man had failed at hiding his amusement at Merlin’s antics before. Arthur had a feeling that if those two got left together for too long, Gwaine too would somehow fall under Merlin’s charms.

 

As he stared at the door, Arthur suddenly felt a stirring of anger towards the teenager. Their lives had been dangerous enough, living a lie and hunting down people who were known murderers. What right did he have to turn up as one of their targets and complicate matters? Why should Lancelot like him, why should Arthur realise he had no idea what he wanted in life? Why should Merlin be here, free and making them all like him when he should be locked up?

 

“It’s not his fault you are falling.” Leon said softly, seeing the anger in Arthur’s eyes. He wasn’t surprised; the commander usually had such a tight lid on his emotions. Not only had that lid been ripped off, the whole contents had been shaken up and now were spilling over. Arthur becoming angry was just his way of him trying to jam the lid back on before it was too late. If he was left exposed for too long, people would be able to see straight through him. The commander gave a sharp nod of his head to indicate that he had heard Leon, but didn’t say anything as he walked towards the room.

  
Leon sighed as he watched him go before moving into the still-clean kitchen to make himself a coffee. Dealing with Arthur and his emotions had always left him with a headache; it was why he had banished the others. Somehow, he didn’t think that would have gone as smoothly if Gwaine had been around.

 

MMM

 

Merlin stormed into Arthur’s bedroom, anger burning brightly in him. He had refused to listen to Arthur say that it was nothing more than something casual, especially after what they had both said about destiny. Although it had given him something of a satisfaction to see Arthur squirm at his “loving” words, Merlin couldn’t deny the anger and the slightest flash of fear that had shot through him at Leon’s threat of cuffing him. He thought the man had seemed reasonable, but maybe seeing them like that was going a step too far. Out of sheer frustration, he made to tear Arthur’s jumper off again.

  
“I’d keep it on if I were you, it’s rather warm. Yep, borrowed it myself in the past, although it did fit me slightly better than that.” Merlin turned, forgetting in his anger that Lancelot had been sent to babysit him. He could only watch guardedly as the soldier shut the door behind him, blocking out all sounds from the room beyond.

  
“What are you going to do, cuff me?” Merlin spat, but his hands dropped from the bottom of the jumper and he left it on.

 

“Do I need to?” Lancelot responded calmly, and Merlin sagged. Once again, he was taking out his anger over Arthur and his behaviour on the wrong person. Lancelot was still being friendly to him even if he had realised what they were doing. Leon hadn’t exactly been subtle with his wording. Blowing out a long breath, he sat back down on the edge of Arthur’s bed.  
  
“So, guessing that you do care about him then?” Lancelot said conversationally, coming to sit next to him and glancing over quizzically. It was clear that he was thinking of their earlier conversation.

 

“It’s... complicated.” Merlin sighed, letting himself fall over backwards until he was once again staring at Arthur’s ceiling, adamantly refusing to think about what had been happening the last time he had been lying in this position.

 

“I’m dating the girl my commander had before me, how much stranger could it get?”  
  
“Just the elephant in the room called magic.” Merlin muttered, feeling the band pulse against his ankle even as his power sparked off his fingertips, betraying his frustration. He felt Lancelot tense next to him and glanced at the man. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.”

 

“It? It’s not just you then?”  
  
“I don’t know. I swear I’m not controlling it half the time. Like when it reacted to Arthur being in trouble the other day. It just did it of its own accord. I can’t say I was thinking at the time that I wanted him to live and be alright, yet the magic just acted of its own accord.”  
  
“What is it with you and Arthur?” Lancelot muttered teasingly, poking Merlin in the leg as he did so. Merlin rolled his eyes.

  
“Damned if I knew. It’s like it is not just my magic that reacts to him, I don’t know what I was thinking. Probably wasn’t, that was what my mother always says.”

  
“Does she know where you are?”

  
“You mean does she know that I’m being held hostage by some weird army unit?” Lancelot prodded him again and Merlin couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “She knows I’m in Camelot. She sent me. There was too much talk around where I came from, I was beginning to draw suspicion to myself. Will came too, although I’m not sure so it was whether I would have a friend around or she could keep an eye on me through him.”  
  
“Must be nice to have her care so much.” Merlin propped himself up on his elbows and looked steadily at Lancelot.

  
“What about yours?”

  
“Mine were killed when I was just a child. Before becoming a journalist, I had spent most of my childhood in care.”  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
“Don’t be.” Lancelot had a faraway look in his eyes, as if he was lost in memories he would rather forget. Despite the fact that it was him who had started the conversation, Merlin still felt guilty for making him feel this way. “It’s made me the man I am today.”

 

“I bet they would be proud of you.” Merlin said softly, sitting up properly again, his sulk forgotten. Somehow, Lancelot always had managed to make him feel better over the last couple of days. Maybe it was because he was the only one who had really spoken to him, made some effort to get to know Merlin as himself rather than just seeing him as the warlock they had to keep out of trouble, but either way, the teenager appreciated it. He had a feeling his magic would have made something explode simply through sheer frustration otherwise.

  
“I hope so. So come on, tell me what happened?”  
  
“Just know that it was good and I don’t regret it.” Merlin couldn’t hold Lancelot’s eye, blushing as he turned away. Before the solider could say anything else, the door flew open.  
  
“Get out.” Arthur snarled, his whole body rigid with tension as Lancelot climbed slowly to his feet.

  
“Arthur, I...”  
  
“Out.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Lancelot didn’t protest again, just sent Merlin a worried look as he crossed the room. Hesitating in the doorway for a split second, Merlin could see him biting his lip as he clearly contemplated whether to try and stop his commander or not. The warlock would have done anything to know what was going through his mind as he softly shook his head and left, the door closing quietly behind him. By the time Merlin had turned his attention back to Arthur, the commander had moved.

 

Merlin scrambled off the bed and backed up as fast as he could as he saw the blond pluck the cuffs out of the drawer next to his bed.

  
“No way! You’re not coming near me with those things!” Merlin could only hope that Arthur heard the anger in his voice rather than the hint of fear. If the commander got those things on him again, he knew that he was as good as hopeless. And this time, he didn’t think that he would be freed again. Swallowing hard, he knew he had to keep Arthur away from him, and there was only one way he could do that. The older man more than outdid him when it came to skill and sheer muscle power if it came down to a fight. But Merlin did have on advantage.

  
“Are you going to stop me?” Although Arthur’s voice was a yell, Merlin could still hear the mocking tone in it and he had had enough. How could they accuse him of caring about Arthur when he had no idea how the man was going to react half the time? Half the time he was acting like he cared about Merlin, the other time he seemed to only see another target rather than the man he had taken to his bed twice. Arthur took a few steps closer, and Merlin’s hand shot up. Before the commander could take another, Merlin threw him backwards, making sure he had the soft landing of the bed, but making his point rather clearly.

  
“How dare you! How dare you attempt to use magic on me!”

 

“How dare you act as if you have the right to handcuff me like a common criminal! I’ve done nothing wrong, Arthur! It’s not my fault you gave in, I didn’t exactly trick you into shagging me again!”

 

Arthur jumped off the bed, anger flying from his eyes. The tension that had been running up and down his body now seemed to be sparking through the air. The commander’s eyes were glinting and Merlin’s fingertips were sparking, a clear sign that neither of them were going to back down on this. Arthur changed his position on the handcuffs and lunged forward again. Just in time, Merlin threw him back again.

 

This time, there was a heavy silence between the two of them as Arthur once more climbed to his feet. Merlin’s hand was still up and neither of them dared to take even so much as a step closer to one another. The tension slowly ebbed away again as they just stood there, watching each other. Neither wanted to back down, yet neither of them wanted to take it any further. After at least five minutes had passed of them both just standing there defensively, Merlin felt the corners of his mouth twitch. He could see his expression reflected on Arthur’s face as he took in the absurdity of their situation.

  
“So let me get this straight, we’ve reached a bit of a stalemate? You won’t come any closer to me because of the magic, and I won’t come any closer to you because of those damn cuffs?”  
  
“Sounds about right.”

  
“Just put the cuffs down then, my arm is aching.”  
  
“Lower your arm first,” Arthur challenged. “You can get me from a distance; I can’t do the same to you.”

 

“Unless you have one of your guns?”  
  


“In the bedroom?” Merlin shrugged, but the anger had all but disappeared. He could see that Arthur had relaxed to, yet neither of them were quite prepared to make the first move.

  
“Okay, okay,” not breaking eye contact, Arthur ran his hand through his hair. “How about on three?”  
  


“On three or after three?”  
  


“On three.”

  
“Fine.” Merlin didn’t really see that he had any other option. Arthur was a trained military soldier, something told the warlock he would be able to stand there all night without moving if he had to. Merlin, on the other hand, hadn’t been joking when he had said that his arm was beginning to ache.

  
“One.”

 

“Two.”

 

“Three.” Both men said it together and their eyes didn’t leave each other. Merlin slowly began to drop his arm, making sure that he didn’t so much as blink. He had no idea how fast Arthur could move and didn’t want to take the chance that the commander was bluffing. The blond, however, was watching the warlock with equal intensity, his eyes locked on Merlin’s hand as if he was suddenly going to be sent flying even as he slowly put the cuffs back in the drawer. As Arthur pushed the drawer shut properly, Merlin finally let his hand drop by his side properly.

 

“Well that was different.” The teenager muttered, sliding down the wall and leaning back on it, closing his eyes. He didn’t hear Arthur move until the commander was suddenly sitting next to him. Whilst Merlin was completely sagged against the wall, Arthur was bolt upright. “Besides, what was that for?”

  
“Leon accused me of caring about you.”  
  
“God help me. Lancelot did the same thing.”

 

“Delusional, the both of them.”  
  


“Yep.” Merlin glanced at Arthur out of the corner of his eye and saw the way the older man’s lips were twitching slightly. As Arthur caught his gaze, it was like a wall had come tumbling down and they both burst out laughing at the extremity of their actions.

  
“What are we like?”

  
“Screwed, apparently.”

 

“You did it well though.” Merlin went scarlet at Arthur’s words, giving him a mock shove. Arthur didn’t so much as even sway, but shoved Merlin back. The warlock ended up sprawled across the floor.

  
“You really are hopeless. How do you defend yourself?”  
  


“How do you think?” Merlin muttered sarcastically, sitting back up again and rolling his eyes at Arthur’s talent to miss the obvious.

 

“Oh.” He couldn’t help but snort with laughter as the commander caught on to what he meant, glancing away as he did so. No matter how much Arthur had already began to change his opinion, it was clear that he was far from comfortable about talking so openly about magic, especially considering he had just been on the receiving end of it. Merlin was sticking by what he had promised about not using it to hurt anyone – hence why throwing Arthur onto the bed rather than against a wall – but nor was he about to let them do whatever they want to him. He only had one weapon of defence against the whole army unit, they were not going to take that away from him.

  
“Is it true?”  
  
“What?”

  
“That you care about me.” There was a teasing smile on Merlin’s face as he spoke, but it faded as he glanced at Arthur. If he was honest, he didn’t know how he wanted the man to respond. Arthur glanced at him quickly, before rolling his own eyes.

  
“As if I would care about someone so stupid.” His words might have been mocking, but Merlin had seen the look in his eye and smiled slightly. “Was Lance right?”  
  
Shrugging, Merlin looked the other way, trying to hide the small smile on his face.

  
“As if I could care about someone who was such an ass.”  
  


But as he glanced back at Arthur, he knew. Just as the blond had failed to hide what was going through his mind regardless of what had come out of his mouth, Merlin knew he too had failed. For a brief second, they both just looked at each other.

 

What were they supposed to do now?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I won't live a lie."

The next day was an awkward one, with both Merlin and Arthur trying to pretend like nothing had happened. It didn’t fool either Leon or Lancelot, however, who were often seen exchanging knowing smiles when the pair realised the other was watching them out of the corner of their eyes. Merlin was the worst, he instantly blushed every time Arthur caught him staring, but the commander wasn’t a lot better, especially when Gwaine started making comments. The man was army through and through, he knew what to say, and it would leave both Arthur and Merlin trying to deny that they were blushing. The sleeping arrangements had even changed so that Merlin could stay in the main room with the rest of them. He had ended up lodged between Lancelot and the wall, no one quite wanting him close to the door just in case.

  
Why they were even pretending was a mystery. Lancelot wondered what Leon had said and whether that was making Arthur deny how he was clearly feeling. In turn, Leon was wondering what had taken place in the room after Lancelot had been thrown out, for he had heard the yelling, but then both of the people involved had emerged shortly afterwards unharmed. Arthur’s temper had been defused and by the time Gwaine, Percival and Elyan had returned from their run, Lancelot and Merlin were sitting talking quietly in one corner of the room (whilst Merlin pretended that he wasn’t glanced at Arthur every few seconds) whilst the commander sat in his usual chair cleaning his gun, (also pretending that he wasn’t watching the warlock closely).

 

But whilst their pretence may have lasted for the first day, it went no further than that. Arthur had gone for a run with Gwaine the next morning, the former claiming that he hadn’t had a proper workout for a while and the latter not doing well with not leaving the flat for any length of time. Merlin had stayed where he was, chatting amiably to not only Lancelot, but the others as well. Leon had apologised for how he had reacted, and the teenager had just brushed it off, claiming that he could see that he was trying to look out for Arthur. Leon hadn’t quite known how to respond, not used to being as expressive with his emotions as he had been over the last couple of days, but the conversation had just resumed without him responding.

  
When Arthur had returned, however, the pretence was well and truly dropped. He and Gwaine sprinted through the door, laughing and looking more carefree than he had been for a long time as he raced his soldier. Elyan and Percival had grinned at each other, knowing the run would have also been the two of them talking about Darg and knowing that everything was going to be okay. Merlin, however, had just gaped. Arthur’s t-shirt was sticking to him and he was forced to comb his fingers through his hair to stop it sticking to his sweaty forehead as he gulped down air, chest heaving even as his eyes shone. Kicking off his shoes, the commander had then proceeded to stretch out the muscles that he had just used, and Merlin had done an accurate impression of a fish out of water.  
  
Lancelot had tried asking what was wrong, but Merlin had just made an odd gulping and disappeared into Arthur’s room almost desperately, slamming the door behind him. The commander had just stared in bewilderment for a long moment until Gwaine had made a comment about feeling hot –innocently meant for once -, Arthur had swore and disappeared in after Merlin. There might have been the sounds of the shower going even as Gwaine went into the other bathroom as well, but when Arthur reappeared, he looked more sated than a simple shower would have done. Especially the way Merlin had staggered out after him, also with a wide eyed and dazed look on his face with wet hair indicating that Arthur had not been the only one in that shower.

 

After that, there had been no more pretending. It was almost scary how quickly the team got used to having Merlin in the flat. They had to attend a training regime that afternoon, and no one even thought to stay behind to guard the warlock. For his part, Merlin continued on his cleaning spree of the flat. But whilst it was just a boredom reliever whilst he waited for them to get back, Merlin found that there were hints of him also being there, an extra mug and plate left out, more cushions on the floor than before. He couldn’t explain it, but Merlin had been unable to stop the smile from spreading over his face. When the exhausted team stumbled back early evening, he had simply dragged Arthur into the bedroom, pushed him against the wall and dropped to his knees even as someone deliberately turned the music on in the next room.

 

He had stayed in Arthur’s room that night, and no one had dared to enter before the pair had made themselves visible. Gwaine took great delight in pointing out that Arthur seemed to be corrupt as he would enforce his rule about shirts when it was Gwaine wandering around shirtless, but didn’t seem to complain when Merlin was lacking in clothing. Arthur had thrown a cushion at him, but hadn’t said anything but smile slyly. But there was one thing now missing that Leon couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at. The anti-magic band was no longer around Merlin’s ankle. They were doing absolutely nothing to restrain the most powerful magic-user they had ever come across, and no one seemed to even blink twice at it.

 

The week went by quicker than anyone could have thought possible. An almost steady routine fell into place. The team would go out for a run – Merlin soon learnt that he had disrupted their usual routine and that used to happen every morning – whilst he set about making breakfast. Then everyone would disappear to get cleaned up – Merlin more often than not being dragged into the bathroom with Arthur – and have an hour or so to do whatever they wanted. It was amusing to Merlin to see who did what. Lancelot dragged Elyan to the shops in order to stock up on whatever it was they had forgotten the day before, Arthur, Gwaine and Leon talked/cleaned/restocked on weaponry, and Percival read. Then the team would go through the files on their latest mission, figuring out how to go after Darg whilst Merlin shut himself in Arthur’s room. He knew the sorcerers were different to him, and it was becoming clearer with each passing day that the team weren’t about to turn on him. But he still couldn’t bring himself to listen to the way they spoke about restraining the magic, subconsciously rubbing his hand over the healing wounds on his arms.

 

Sometimes there was another training regime in the afternoon, sometimes they could do whatever they wanted. If they had freedom in the afternoon, the team often split up, each trying to get a little of their own space. Merlin didn’t have a choice though; he had to stay in the flat. Apparently it still wasn’t safe for him, but as the week past, he was beginning to feel that the furthest outside he had been was when he had attempted to put the bins out. It was beginning to drive him mad, but he knew that once they deemed it to be safe, he would be out of that flat and most likely not returning to it ever again. Part of him longed to get back to the simplicity of his old life, yet at the same time, it was nice feeling like he had other people caring for him other than Will and his mother.

 

But the day came all too soon. Merlin woke up early, his head once again resting on Arthur’s chest and his arm wrapped around the man’s waist, holding on as if he didn’t ever want to let go again. In a way, Merlin felt like he didn’t. He may have only been with the group for a little over a week, but something felt right. It felt as if he belonged here with them, and whilst he knew that Arthur would scoff if he admitted something like that, Merlin didn’t care. He couldn’t stop Gaius’ words from ringing through his mind about his destiny, nor could he forget that whenever he thought of that word, his thoughts immediately turned to Arthur. Could the old man actually have been making a point, could his destiny be linked with Arthur’s? Sighing, Merlin titled his head so that he was looking up at Arthur’s sleeping face, his fingers brushing lightly over his chest.

  
“Why did you have to be such a prat?” He whispered, wondering if he could blame Arthur for the fact that, despite their initial meeting and everything that had happened in the hours following it, Merlin had felt more at peace in the last week than he had done for a long time. For the first time in years, he hadn’t had to hide who he was. Whether Arthur heard his whisper or not, Merlin had no idea, but the blond suddenly breathed in deeply, his eyes flickering open even as a sleepy smile crossed his face as he gazed down at Merlin, his fingers brushing through the teenager’s hair.

  
“Morning.” He croaked, his voice hoarse and causing him to clear his throat slightly. Merlin smiled back, but it didn’t meet his eyes in the way it had for the last few days. He wasn’t sure how he should feel when Arthur frowned, clearly noticing. That was just the problem, they were even beginning to sense each other’s moods. “What is it?”  
  


“It’s today, isn’t it?” Merlin said softly, moving his gaze from Arthur’s face and watching his fingers trace a pattern on the broad chest. Arthur’s hand had settled comfortingly on the back of his neck, his thumb moving softly against the skin there. He sighed heavily at Merlin’s words.

  
“Yes.”

 

“But what if I don’t want it to be today, do I get any choice in the matter?”  
  
“Why would you want to stay here, you haven’t left the flat in a week. Don’t you want to get out, go back to your life and just act like this never happened?”

  
“Act as if you never happened?” Merlin asked, now steadily refusing to meet Arthur’s gaze. The commander’s hand tightened slightly.

  
“Are you getting sentimental on me, Merlin? We knew this was coming.” Scowling, Merlin pushed himself upright, climbing off the bed and refusing to turn around even though he could feel Arthur’s eyes running over him and knew that there would be a soft smirk on his face as his eyes fell on the bruise he had sucked into the back of Merlin’s shoulder the night before.

  
“Bloody hell, Arthur, I know, you don’t have to sound all condescending on me, you prick.” Merlin snapped, folding his arms across his chest and stubbornly glaring in the opposite direction. Why did this feel like it was hurting so much? He refused to so much as glance over his shoulder even as he heard Arthur get out of bed and arms wrap around him from behind. Merlin jerked away, causing Arthur to grab him and spin him around, forcing the warlock to look at him.  
  


“What is wrong with you?” There was the same hint of annoyance in Arthur’s voice, and Merlin wasn’t sure whether he was so anxious to hear the same note of desperation that he was just imagining it or whether it was really there. Arthur’s hand moved, taking hold of Merlin’s wrist and attempting to unfold the teenager’s arms. But whilst Merlin did let his arms move, he shoved out at Arthur, causing him to stumble back a step in surprise. Yet the commander didn’t let go, pulling Merlin closer even as he corrected his balance once again. Merlin pushed against his chest, not allowing Arthur to hold him even though he knew it could potentially be the last time. Yet Arthur simply drew him in, ignoring the struggling and wrapped his arms around him, all but pinning Merlin against him.

  
“What is it?” The annoyance was gone as his tone took on a softer note and Merlin was forcibly reminded of Lancelot’s comment almost a week ago about Arthur being a gentle lover. It was true, he was... But then Merlin shut his eyes with a groan. Why was he thinking of Arthur as his lover now, on the day when it all ended? Yet he knew that wasn’t the main problem. He had only known the man a week; he would get over him in two. As Arthur asked again, Merlin stopped fighting, stopped struggling to get away and simply sagged against the commander.

  
“I don’t want to have to go back to hiding who I really am.” He muttered, his voice sounding small and lost in Arthur’s chest as the man’s arms tightened. Somehow, Merlin knew that would get more of a reaction than if he continued with claiming it was about them.

  
“Merlin, I...” Despite it not truly sounding like Arthur knew what he was about to say, Merlin didn’t give him the chance.

 

“Please, Arthur...” His fingers dug into the man’s chest in a way that he knew would leave marks, but unlike their competition the night before, Merlin was just desperate this time. He hadn’t realised how free he had been feeling since being a prisoner until realising now that he was about to lose it all again. “Don’t make me go back to a life that is living a lie where I can’t do anything for fear of being exposed.”  
  
“You didn’t look like you were living a lie in Avalon.” Arthur murmured, walking backwards until he was sitting on the edge of the bed and Merlin was practically on top of him. He could feel the younger man trembling slightly. In a way, Arthur knew how it felt to be living a lie, but at least everything he did, everything he was depended on that lie. Merlin had to somehow find a normal job, live a normal life whilst pretending the whole time.

 

“It’s the only place I can feel like I can let go, no one would notice if magic happened in there. Not sure I could go back now, not after everything...”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“S’not your fault.” Merlin pushed away from the commander, and this time, Arthur let him. It wasn’t because Merlin was still fighting, but because he was feeling defeated and was trying to do it with his head held high. Merlin pulled back, sitting on his haunches and resting his hands on Arthur’s knees. He looked up, his eyes going wide and imploring as he finally met Arthur’s gaze. “Please... give me more time to just be me.”  
  
“Merlin...”  
  
“Please.”

 

Arthur blinked, glancing away before looking back.

 

“I’ll talk to the others.” The smile that shot over Merlin’s face so fast made Arthur’s head spin at the sheer intensity of the beam. But then again, his lack of clear thinking could have been due to the fact that Merlin’s hands were beginning to snake up his legs now that the warlock knew that he had the smallest possibility of finally getting things to go his way for once. Deciding that it was time the warlock felt in control, especially as Arthur couldn’t guarantee what the others would say and therefore couldn’t promise that the control wouldn’t be snatched from him the second they returned him back to his old life, Arthur fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. He felt Merlin straddle him and just smiled.

 

Sometimes, letting someone else take control wasn’t all that bad.

 

MMM

 

Merlin didn’t realise that Arthur had given in that morning because the team were not following their usual routine. Once a month, they had a day off, a chance to catch up with old friends and just live something of a normal life. The army only allowed it because it stopped past contacts from becoming suspicious compared to if they had all just dropped out of society completely, but Arthur knew it was more important than that. He didn’t care what head office said, he knew that it was a chance to unwind, to relax away from the danger that their lives were. They needed this day, and even if it was the same day they were going to get Merlin out, Arthur knew it could wait until the evening. He wouldn’t take away the one sense of normality that his men had.

 

Merlin had yet to come out of the bedroom, taking a shower – alone, for once – after the pair of them had finally made it out of bed over an hour later than their previous attempt. Standing in the small kitchen, Arthur smiled as he watched Gwaine check his appearance for the third time in a minute. No one could deny that the guy was gorgeous, but the problem was he seemed to know it himself. Percival had a bag waiting by the door and Elyan had a tennis racket resting by it, the pair of them clearly going into town together before splitting up. Lancelot was being just as paranoid about his appearance as Gwaine, and Arthur knew it was because of the upcoming date he had. Ignoring the slight clenching of his stomach, Arthur pushed a thought firmly from his mind. Had he really gotten over Gwen?  
  
“So you’re saying you want him to stay another week or so?” Gwaine drawled, glancing over his shoulder at Arthur even as he tried to flick his hair up once again. Arthur rolled his eyes, resting his elbows on the counter and nodding.

  
“What’s so wrong with that? He’s safe here, we know that he is not in trouble, or causing trouble...”

  
“...and you get laid about three times a day.” Gwaine finished somewhat cheerfully, finally giving up on his hair and turning around. “And aren’t nearly so much of a moody princess because of it.” Arthur opened his mouth to make a comeback, but Leon got in there first.

  
“You’re the commander.”

 

“I’m not making this decision on my own.” Arthur said firmly, locking eyes with his second in command. He couldn’t let them think that he was putting Merlin over them. “If you aren’t happy with it, he goes tonight, end of story. But just think about it, it’s not as if it has put us out at all having him here...”

 

“It’s fine by me,” Lancelot said cheerfully, smoothing down his shirt and glancing at Arthur. He couldn’t hold the man’s gaze for long though. Whilst he knew that his partner was about to turn up, he also knew that it meant Arthur’s ex was about to walk through the door. Maybe this time it wouldn’t be as awkward as last month’s date had been? Maybe Merlin would have done their commander more good than any of them had realised? “He’s a cool guy, he can stay.”

 

“Likewise. He thrashed my high score on the console the other day. Percy’s been trying for months and failing, I need some new competition.” Gwaine added in. His tone might have been light and cheerful, but Arthur could hear the sincerity. He was making light of a serious question, but he truly meant his answer. When Elyan and Percival also claimed that they were happy to have Merlin stay for longer, Arthur couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

 

“Leon?”

 

“He makes you happy, therefore he can stay. Just don’t put off the inevitable, Arthur. You’ll have to make a decision one way or the other.” Leon said quietly, coming to stand next to his commander so that the rest of them didn’t hear his words. Arthur smiled softly up at the taller man, gratitude reflected in his eyes and causing Leon to smile before moving away again. No one had the chance to say anything else before there came a knock on the flat door. Immediately, smiles spread over Elyan and Lancelot’s faces even as Arthur found himself swallowing. He didn’t notice his bedroom door open and a pair of eyes watching his expression closely.

  
Elyan flung open the door, sweeping the visitor in with one scoop of his arm and hugging her tightly.

 

“Gwen!” He all but shouted, embracing his sister before holding her at arm’s length and looking her up and down. “Looking as gorgeous as ever, eh, sis? So, I was thinking, first the old coffee shop, then the cinema, then lunch...” Percival failed to hide his grin as Gwen glanced between her brother and Lancelot.

  
“Actually, El, I...”  
  
“Don’t say you haven’t come to see me?” Elyan gasped so dramatically that even Arthur had to laugh softly. It was good seeing him this relaxed. Gwen looked apologetically, clearly not knowing what to say and blushing slightly before Elyan suddenly stepped back with a grin.

  
“Oh go on, lover-boy’s waiting for you. Has been since 5 this morning.”  
  


“I was not!”

  
“Were too, why else were you up?”  
  
“Why were you?”

 

“Gwaine was watching re-runs of some stupid program.” Elyan responded with a shrug and a grin, knowing that was the real reason why Lancelot too had been awake. Gwen leant over and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek, and both he and Percival all but ran out of the door, eager to start their day of freedom. Gwen moved across the room and stepped up to Lancelot, who closed the distance between them.

 

“Hi.” She said softly, blushing again.  
  
“You look beautiful.” Lancelot said sincerely, kissing her hand. Gwaine snorted with laughter until Leon grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards the door.

  
“Have fun, you two love-birds!” Gwaine managed to yell before Leon yanked him out of it. The remaining occupants of the flat could hear him laughing the whole way down the stairs.

  
“I’ll just be a minute..?” Lancelot glanced towards the bathroom door and then back towards Gwen. She nodded softly.  
  
“I’ll be fine.” She said quietly, and Arthur tried to ignore the way that it almost seemed to be said as a genuine gesture of reassurance. He had let her go, what did they think he would do? Try and steal her back whilst Lancelot went to the loo?  
  
“Hello, Arthur.” As soon as the bathroom door had shut, Gwen perched nervously on the edge of one of the chairs, glancing about her. In the days where she had lived with them, things had been so different, _Arthur_ had been so different. He was well aware of how controlling and dominant he had been back then, determined that they were going to get the job done, no matter what. Personal matters were of no concern to him then. It had taken a long while before he realised there needed to be a balance in their lives, and that had only dawned on him when Percival had almost collapsed through the stress of trying to hunt down a sorcerer who had been avoiding them.

 

Gwen looked around the room, smiling softly as she did so and clearly remembering some of the happy times she had spent here before the arguments had started. But then she frowned slightly. “Someone has cleaned up.” She muttered lightly, looking towards where a pile of dirty dishes were stacked in the sink rather than being left around the whole flat. Arthur shrugged.

  
“We had someone in.” He muttered evasively, not wanting her to know about Merlin. He didn’t mean anything by it. As far as he was concerned, the fewer people who knew that the warlock was here, the better. He trusted Gwen, he couldn’t deny that. But he found that his want to have Merlin kept safe overcame anything else at that moment in time. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the pair of eyes narrow in annoyance at how easily he had just been dismissed as he if was a glorified housekeeper.

  
“That’s good,” she murmured softly, clearly trying to build up to saying something. Arthur shifted uncomfortably, finally realising what Leon had been trying to say days ago. Gwen still couldn’t talk to him bluntly even after he had practically broken her heart by throwing her at Lancelot. From the very first time he had met Merlin, the teenager had had no qualms about telling the commander precisely what was going through his mind, even if the pair of them didn’t know who the other was.

  
“Look...”  
  
“Arthur...”

 

Arthur coughed lightly. “You first.”

 

“How have you been?” Gwen said softly, standing up and taking a step forward, closing the distance between them. She placed a hand on his arm, and Arthur couldn’t find it in himself to dislodge it. Before, he would have, worried that she would be trying something. But now that his attention had been captured by someone else, Arthur could see that she was just trying to be friendly.

 

“You mean have I moved on yet?” He responded quietly, looking into her eyes and trying to smile as she nodded. “I don’t think I’ll have with anyone what we had, Gwen...”  
  
She withdrew her hand sharply and took a step back even as the bathroom door opened and Lancelot reappeared. He glanced between them quizzically until Gwen shot him a reassuring smile and slipped her hand into his. Inwardly, Arthur groaned. That was not what he meant. He had meant to explain that Gwen had opened his eyes, showed him what he was missing in his life. But she wasn’t that thing, she wasn’t what he needed. Someone else had taken her place, but Arthur knew that trying to explain that now in front of Lancelot was not a good idea. He knew the man had never forgotten that he only had the girl of his dreams because his commander had given her up, and didn’t want him to start doubting what had started off that conversation. He somehow managed to hitch a smile on his face that didn’t meet his eyes.

 

“Go on, you don’t want to waste the time you have together.” Lancelot grinned, leading Gwen towards the door. They were just about to leave when Gwen pulled away, stepped back up to Arthur and kissed him on the cheek, just like she had for her brother.

  
“I’m glad you’ve found someone.” She whispered, laughing lightly at his gobsmacked expression before once more taking Lancelot’s hand and smiling up at him in such a way that there was no doubt for anyone watching where her heart truly rested.

 

Unfortunately, someone had stopped watching. Merlin had turned his back when he heard Arthur confessing to never having that experience with anyone else and had sunk down the door, chin resting on his knees as he resisted the urge to cry. Hearing Lancelot and Gwen leave, he bit his lip, not particularly wanting to be left on his own with Arthur now if the man was just using him to get a physical release rather than anything more. He didn’t see Arthur shake his head fondly as he realised that he was actually happy one of his men had found happiness, but he did hear the bathroom door shut again as Arthur went into it.

 

Merlin couldn’t honestly say that he was thinking straight. He couldn’t help but feel hurt over what he had just overheard. Arthur clearly hadn’t yet got over Gwen, and the warlock refused to just be the rebound guy. He had been trying so hard to be open with the team considering they knew precisely what he was, but it seemed that Arthur had just been fooling him into thinking that he could feel anything back for his prisoner. They had been right before, Leon had been deluded into thinking Arthur cared for him.

 

Knowing this could be his only chance, Merlin jumped to his feet and pulled the door open as quietly as he could. The sounds of running water could be heard from the main bathroom, and Merlin knew it was sheer luck that Arthur hadn’t come to use his own in the way that he normally had. Holding his breath, Merlin crept across the room and began to tug the flat door open. Just before it had opened enough for him to slip out, he realised that he was still wearing one of Arthur’s hoodies, something that had become a joke and a habit over the last few days.

  
“I won’t live a lie.” He whispered to thin air, part of him wanting the words to carry through the bathroom door and to the commander that had turned his whole world upside down. He wrenched it over his head and left it in a heap on the floor, angrily cursing himself for being weak as he brushed away a tear. Slipping out of the door, he gently pushed it shut again, strongly resisting the urge to slam it in a true teenager style. He had to be as far away as possible before Arthur realised that he was the only person left in the flat.

 

Stubbornly refusing to think about Aredian and the danger he was putting everyone in by acting spontaneously, Merlin set off at a run, taking the stairs as fast as he dared as he tried to put as much space between him and this damn unit as he could. Blinking in the fresh air as he pulled open the back door to the flats – some part of his mind acting rationally enough to tell him going out the front was stupid – Merlin knew that wasn’t true. He clambered up onto the bins and began to climb over the wall even as the thought he was refusing to acknowledge floated to the surface once more.

 

He was trying to put as much space between him and _Arthur_ as he could, damn the rest of them. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic is not always in control. In fact, sometimes, it takes ones emotions and lashes out at the whole world.

Merlin didn’t stop to think about where he was going. It didn’t seem to matter that he didn’t know the city very well, or the fact that he had been brought to the flat unconscious in the back of a van. Or even the fact that he hadn’t set foot outside it since, somehow, he knew where to go. He wasn’t sure whether that was something to do with his magic, or whether he simply had good instincts, but Merlin didn’t worry about getting lost as he ran. He had no idea how long it would take for Arthur to realise he was missing, and Merlin wasn’t sure whether he would call in the rest of the team or try and find Merlin on his own. Somehow, it was only Arthur that was troubling his thoughts regarding getting caught again, not the mysterious Aredian who had the Round Table so afraid.

 

Desperately trying not to think about the commander, Merlin was battling with himself as he ran, his feet barely making a sound on the pavements. From avoiding the taunts of other boys back in his village for years, the teenager had become a good runner, he could move swiftly. His magic helped, it seemed to fuel him for longer, meaning that he could keep going even when everyone else had long since given up on the pursuit. But it did mean that it wasn’t long at all until he was skidding into a street that he recognised.

  
The morning was getting on by that point, and there were several people milling around. Some, Merlin recognised, the old man that he always bumped into at the corner shop, the mother with the screaming twins... All going about their normal life, not even looking twice at him. Considering Merlin normally interacted with these people a couple of times a week, he felt a wave of confusion and a little bit of hurt crash over him at the fact that they didn’t look twice, didn’t make any sign that they had noticed he hadn’t been around. That was the thing with city life that he didn’t think he would ever get used to. So many people, so much interaction on a daily basis, and yet no one truly knew each other. People were coming and going all the time, no one really paid much attention to it anymore.

 

Breathing in a long, deep breath, Merlin forced his racing heart to calm as he crossed the road. Even so, he jumped a foot in the air as he heard a van go skidding past in the next street, his racing mind wondering whether they had caught up with him already. Rationally, he knew it wouldn’t be possible, they would have to consult his file to find out where he had lived, and Merlin had hidden it under one of the chairs during one of his cleaning sprees. He still had time, as long as he stopped acting like a common criminal jumping at shadows every five seconds.

 

Digging his hand into his jeans pocket, Merlin had to smile at the fact that he still had his door key. His phone the unit had taken from him, or perhaps even the men at the cells. He wasn’t sure, only knew that he had been without it since being in the flat. But somehow, the slim piece of metal had avoided being detected, and even with the amount of times that his trousers had been torn off in haste, the key somehow had still stayed in his possession. Smiling slightly, Merlin had to force his hand to stop shaking as he tried to fit it into the lock of the main door to the block of flats.

 

“Merlin, is that you?” Hearing a voice calling his name, Merlin stepped back out from over the overhang and craned his neck upwards. The guy in the flat next door – George, Merlin was sure his name was, was leaning out of his window and looking disapproving. The man had always been a bit of a prude and gave Merlin the creeps slightly, but his heart was in the right place.

  
“Yeah.”

  
“Call that friend of yours and tell him you’re okay. He’s been around here every day for the last week, banging on the doors and shouting for you. Sounded rather freaked out, if you ask me. Oh, and tell him if he breaks in again, I’m calling the police.”  
  
“Fine.” Merlin called back, ducking back out of sight and finding his heart was racing again. Although this time, it wasn’t worry, it was fear. Strangely enough though, his hand was steady as he managed to finally let himself into the building. It was nice to know that Will had noticed that he had disappeared, and had clearly been trying to find him. Yet Merlin knew his friend. They had been best friends since they were old enough to walk. He knew Will as well as Will knew him, and that was why he knew that something was wrong. It came as no surprise to hear that Will had been around here yelling for him. But he knew there was no way that he would attempt to break into Merlin’s flat.

  
No matter how worried Will might have become, he wouldn’t do something that drastic. Not because he didn’t think that Merlin was worth it, but the opposite. He wouldn’t risk someone reporting the break in and the police turning up at Merlin’s flat. He had promised the warlock’s mother that he would try and keep her son safe, drawing the authorities’ attention to Merlin was not going to be fulfilling that promise. Regardless of how worried Will had been, Merlin knew that he wouldn’t have broken in, he wouldn’t have risked it all just being a misunderstanding and his actions being the thing to land his friend in trouble.

  
But as Merlin began to climb the stairs to the small room that he called home, one troubling thought was buzzing around his head. If Will hadn’t been the one to break in, who had? Or had it all just been sheer fluke, some ordinary robber seeming to realise that the pad was empty?

 

Finally making it up to the right floor, Merlin was clenching his key so hard that it was practically cutting an imprint into his hand. For a moment, he just stood outside of his door and trembled, feeling his age more than ever. The unit had also been young, but they had all seen and done things that Merlin knew he would never be able to comprehend. He was just a teenager, trying to make his way in life and finding that fate apparently had it against him. But as the door almost seemed to blur as tears swam in his eyes, Merlin felt his back straighten.

 

He wasn’t just a teenager. He was a warlock, and from what Gaius had said, not only was he a powerful one, he was one with a destiny. He was not going to stand in his own corridor outside of his own flat and wait for someone to come and rescue him this time. Something was wrong, and it was to do with him. Therefore it was only right that he was the one to try and fix it. Sniffing, Merlin wiped the back of his arm across his eyes and brushed the tears of frustration away. Allowing his magic to flood his sense, Merlin held it back just enough to stop his eyes from changing colour –still clinging onto the possibility that it was all just a misunderstanding and not wanting to scare anyone – and placed his key in the lock. Somehow, being with the unit had given him a control over his magic that he had never achieved before, and he knew that if anyone was still inside, they would prove to be no threat to him.

 

As soon as the lock clicked, Merlin practically kicked down the door and charged inside. But then he stopped, staring about him in absolute horror as the door swung shut behind him. It was clear that there was no one waiting for him, no one about to spring out of a hiding place, but it was also clear that this hadn’t been an ordinary break in. As far as Merlin could see, nothing had been taken.  
  
Instead, the place had been absolutely trashed. The curtains had been drawn, clearly to block out any witnesses, but the ends were torn and one looked like it would come down at any second. The kitchen had been ransacked, every drawer thrown open and emptied out over the floor. The fridge door was still open, causing an unpleasant smell to fill the entire place from where things had got too warm, a sticky puddle on the floor showing where the milk had dripped steadily until the bottle was empty. His breathing shallow and quick, Merlin felt his magic die away again in shock as he turned slowly around. The bed had been thrown over, the covers ripped. The wardrobe had suffered the same fate, his clothes flung across the whole place and then clearly trampled on. There were even deep gouges in the walls.

 

“No...” Numb, Merlin could only gaze around him with wide, shocked eyes, wincing as he saw the smashed TV. He had spent months saving up for the small second hand thing, yet it had clearly taken someone only seconds to destroy it. To destroy everything... his whole life was contained in this flat and somehow had just ripped everything open to prying eyes and walked all over it.

  
“NO!” His voice coming out as a yell, Merlin’s magic exploded from him. A wind seemed to rip around the apartment, everything on the floor being flung into the air before settling again. The place was such a mess, it made no difference. As the magic came back down to settle, the curtains finally gave way, and with a loud tearing noise, one fell from the rod and crumbled in a heap on the floor, sending out clouds of dust from where Merlin had never bothered to clean them at all. Watching in silence, Merlin dropped to his knees, doubling over on himself as pain tore through his body. Sheer anguish over the fact that within a week, his life had been torn apart was flooding through him, drowning out all other senses and feelings. What was he meant to feel when seeing what had been done to the place he called home? He was supposed to have been safe in Camelot, they were supposed to be hitting the clubs every night, not staring around a destroyed home with no idea who had done this. Were they looking for something? Were they looking for him? Maybe they had found whatever it was they were looking for and would leave him alone now?  
  
Once again, Merlin found himself struggling to breathe as he curled up on his side, arms wrapped around his stomach as he tucked his head in, refusing to look at the mess. Maybe this would all be a dream and he would wake up still in Arthur’s arms, safe and knowing that the unit would keep him that way? Maybe he would be able to go back even further than that, and he would wake up on the morning before he had spotted Arthur at Avalon, and Will would be about to call him, telling him that he couldn’t make tonight after all..?  
  
Will!

  
Scrambling upright again, Merlin automatically dug his hand into his pocket before remembering that he didn’t have his phone. One glance at the handset that lived in the flat and he knew that it would do him no good. All the wires were torn from it where it sat on the floor, dead and lifeless.

  
What if whoever was behind this had been looking for something, or even him? And instead, what if they had heard Will, yelling for him and making it more than obvious that the brunette knew Merlin, maybe even knew where he was? What if they had tried to make Will say something, regardless of the fact that his friend knew nothing? His heart in his mouth, Merlin was out of the door faster than he could blink, hammering on George’s door.

  
“George!! George, let me in, I need to use your phone!” The door opened just a crack, the chain clearly on and illustrating that the man was not about to just grant Merlin access to his pristine flat.

  
“After all of the trouble that your friends have caused me over the last week?”  
  
“Friends? What friends?”

 

“I don’t know, thuggish looking brutes if you ask me. You okay there, lad?” Merlin felt his head spinning, the whole corridor seeming to go slightly blurry as he struggled to keep himself upright. He could tell by the alarmed look the man was giving him that he must have looked as bad as he felt.

  
“Phone, I need to use your phone...”  
  
“You need help, lad.” George said firmly, but Merlin’s hand slammed forward. He thrust his palm at the door, and could already hear the chain creaking as his magic began to work into the links, trying to get it to snap. But then he seemed to catch himself, and his hand withdrew, running through his hair and clutching at it instead. He couldn’t use his magic to force his way into George’s flat, no matter what was going on. Arthur would hear about it and know where he had been within seconds. No, he had to somehow keep low, keep both the unit and whoever had done this off his tail.

 

“Get help, Merlin.” George said, a slightly stern note infiltrating his voice even though his eyes seemed to betray Merlin’s appearance was disturbing him. Merlin barely was even aware of the door slamming shut, leaving him standing in an empty corridor and trying not to pass out. For Will’s sake, he had to keep his senses about him.

 

Even so, he wasn’t aware that he was running until he was out of the building, across the street and halfway through the park that separated their flats. He had refused to have Will in the same block, knowing the other man would practically move in and let Merlin run around after him. It was how they had always been, yet Merlin had been determined that Camelot would be his fresh start. Surprisingly, Will hadn’t argued, but from the stories that Merlin heard about his nights at Avalon, it came as no shock that Will didn’t want his best friend knowing how many girls he could get into bed with him... at the same time.

 

But right now, Merlin was cursing the fact that even at a flat out sprint, it would still take him another five minutes before he could reach Will’s flat. Somehow, the fact that he had been missing for over a week so five minutes longer would make absolutely no difference whatsoever didn’t register in the warlock’s mind as he used his magic to make his legs go faster. Merlin had thrown caution to the wind, he didn’t care if anyone questioned how fast he seemed to be going, he just had to get there.

 

After what felt like an age, he was skidding to a stop at the bottom of the flats. Jamming his finger anxiously on the buzzer, Merlin couldn’t stay still. Instead, he was bouncing on his toes as he willed for there to be an answer, to hear Will being annoyed about the fact that Merlin had gone AWOL on him and then turned up at a time that, according to Will, was still the crack of dawn. But there was no answer. No matter how many times Merlin hit the button or his voice yelled Will’s name pleading, no flippant answer came floating back over the intercom.

 

“Will, come on, please.” Hopping from foot to foot for a few minutes longer, Merlin knew with an absolute determination that he had to get in there. Glancing around him, the warlock made sure that no one was looking his way before placing his palm against the lock. His eyes flashed wordlessly and the door swung open, allowing him access with ease. Merlin refused to think that if it was that easy for him, even a weaker sorcerer would have been able to get in. Instead, Merlin simply ran up the stairs as fast as he could, using the same trick to grant him access into Will’s flat.  
  
“No, nononono....” Merlin stared, his breath hitching in his throat as his heart seemed almost determined to jump out his chest. The place had suffered the same treatment as Merlin’s own, belongings strewn absolutely everywhere. So caught up was he with the knowledge that whoever had been after him had also come after his friend, Merlin’s mind didn’t initially realise what it was that he was seeing. Staring at the wall, the warlock blinked.

  
“No...” There was something on it, something that was not just the deep gouges that had been left at Merlin’s flat. Not wanting to do this, but knowing that he simply had to know, Merlin moved closer. Tears were already pricking at his eyes as his hand gingerly reached out and softly touched the substance. The colour, the texture... Merlin knew it could only be one thing. Very slowly, he followed the smear across the wall, finally looking down.  
  
“NO!!!” If he thought that his magical outburst at his own flat had been impressive, it was nothing compared to the sheer power that came flooding out of him now. Merlin didn’t realise that it wasn’t just stirring up everything in the flat, it was spreading beyond that. Doors began to slam shut, before opening again and repeating the process as windows shook. Dropping to his knees, Merlin stretched out a hand.

  
Will had been in here all along. Although how long he had been dead for, Merlin couldn’t have said. But there were still the signs of agony on his face, his entire body covered in blood. His clothes had been ripped, and the burnt smell Merlin had vaguely registered when he first stepped through the door became apparent as his eyes fell on the marks all over his friend’s body.

 

“Oh, Will...” Merlin didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what he was feeling as he just sat there in the middle of all the destruction, his best friend practically cradled on his lap. The tears began to silently flood down his cheeks unchecked, Merlin barely even realising that he was crying as one finger traced the outline of one of the burns etched into the cold body. Something about it made him shudder. It wasn’t the horror of the sight, it was something else. Something within him knew how it had been done, knew that it had been magic used to torture his friend to death. It wasn’t just the army who now clearly knew about him. Someone on the other side did as well.

  
For a long time, Merlin stayed where he was, not being able to force himself to move. He knew that he should, knew that realistically he had to get far away from here, he had to make sure that no one went after his mother next if they hadn’t got what they wanted from Will. But he couldn’t bring himself to move, couldn’t make his mind work properly. The magic was still spiralling out from him as his very essence tried to make the world see just how unfair it was. Eventually, Merlin began to register people’s shouts of annoyance and alarm as they struggled to control their doors, and the warlock slowly stood up, numb to the very core.

 

Glancing down at his friend once more, something else caught his eye, something that he hadn’t noticed before. Will was still wearing the leather band that they had bought each other for their sixteenth birthdays. Merlin still had his on now, both having sworn to never take them off whilst they were watching each other’s backs. But there was no way that Will would be able to take his off now. There was a nail straight through it, straight through his wrist.

 

It was too much. Merlin didn’t make it even a shaky step away before he violently lost the contents of his stomach. He fell back to his knees, vomiting and crying, desperately trying to draw a breath as his body rebelled against the scene attacking his senses. The sight, the smell, the sheer horror over what was happening finally got too much for Merlin and he couldn’t hold anything back anymore. Throwing up again, his raw throat let lose something that resembled an unearthly scream. Every window in the entire block of flats shattered outwards, the occupants yelling and running around as they tried to find out what was happening and making sure that no one had got hurt.

 

Many had spilled out onto the pavements beyond, staring up at the building with fear in their eyes as the sound rang out again. It was one of sheer agony, one of loss and grief in the most painful way. But none of the other residents had ever heard anything that strong before for the noise seemed to almost echo with power. Even without a drop of magic in their veins, the people found the hairs on the back of their necks standing up as their eyes all turned to one window. Only a few were aware of the van skidding up behind them, four darkly dressed and armed men running straight through the crowd and into the building without hesitating.

  
“No, no, no, no, no...” He had ended up back on his knees, arms wrapped around his stomach slightly as he rocked back and forth, almost like a child. The image burnt into his mind’s eye though, the sight in front of him, was worlds away from anything that a child would ever be able to witness, and Merlin could almost feel his mind shutting down around him as he struggled to comprehend how on earth someone could do this. He didn’t know why, didn’t understand why this was happening now after they had been so careful for months, only knew that someone had torn his best friend from him in the worst possible manner, and it was all Merlin’s fault.

 

The warlock had no idea what was going on around him. In fact, Merlin was barely conscious as his magic let lose the fury he was feeling over what had happened. Someone had used magic to kill his friend, his _brother_ , and the warlock felt the burning rush of revenge flood his senses. His eyes turned molten gold as the power ripped from him, every light being turned on and off in quick succession until all the bulbs exploded, a small fire starting in the corner of the room. But he noticed nothing, crouched over on his hands and knees with every limb shaking and trembling violently. His eyes went past gold and almost turned to black, the whole building beginning to shake as he screamed again. But the sound, whilst no less raw, didn’t hold the power of before, ending in far more of a sob as the truth of the situation began to crash over him.

 

“Will...no. Please, _no!!”_

 

In a way, Merlin didn’t need to notice anything that was happening outside of the room. His magic had taken on a life of its own, protecting him from anything that wanted to do its master harm again. A small group of men, ones who lived in the flats nearby approached the door with caution, managing to pinpoint the source of the noise and deciding to see if there was anything they could do to help. Most people didn’t have an opinion either way about magic, but they could hear that there was someone hurting badly within that room, and it seemed like they should do something about it. The first one had barely even touched the handle of the door before an almighty gust of wind came out of nowhere and threw them all back again. Wearily, the group helped each other up right, glancing between the door and each other. There seemed to be something unspoken going between them. Human instinct was telling them to get as far away as possible, yet as the scream sounded again, they knew it was one of sheer pain. Whoever was in there wasn’t acting maliciously, but through grief.

  
“Get out of here!” Four men came sprinting up the stairs, one of them loading a gun as he did so. The residents glanced once more at each other, then fled. Whatever this was, it was far bigger than their understanding, and they were not sticking around for the outcome. A heart-wrenching sob came from the room as Merlin tried to make himself as small as possible.

 

Through the mist that was his mind, Merlin somehow heard the unit’s arrival. His magic didn’t throw them back from the door as it had the other men, but instead just lifted Merlin’s chin. It was like something else was controlling him, his own thoughts had stopped functioning the second he had seen Will’s body. He couldn’t feel the building shaking, didn’t see the cracks appearing in the ceiling as the magic continued to lash out violently. Yet that same terrifying power seemed to accept the men outside were friends, that they were truly going to be able to help.

  
“Merlin? Merlin, it’s me...” He knew that voice. Blinded by tears, his eyes may have been pointing towards the door, but Merlin wasn’t seeing anything there. He didn’t notice Arthur, Lancelot and Gwaine step into the room.

  
“Fuck,” Gwaine swore viciously even as Lancelot swayed slightly on seeing the body. Arthur, however, didn’t look away from the warlock. Merlin might not have registered what he was seeing, but somehow, he was looking directly at Arthur. Sensing him coming closer, he forced the magic to pulse warningly and Arthur stopped.

 

“No...” he gasped, retching again but finding there was nothing left in his stomach to bring up. “I have to find them, you can’t stop me...” His eyes staying straight ahead, Merlin didn’t notice Arthur give a few rapid hand signals to his men and they split off, one to each side as they began to close in on the grieving warlock.

  
“I’m going to find them all...” There was something calm to Merlin’s voice, something so cold and icy that it sounded nothing like him at all as the magic reacted to their approach. He almost had a smile on his face as the blackness tried to overcome the gold in his eyes, trying to send him down a route that there would be no recovery from. “And I’m going to kill them!”  
  
Ending in a yell, Merlin leapt to his feet even as his magic grabbed hold of Gwaine and Lancelot and threw them backwards. They both hit opposite walls, Lancelot being knocked out whereas Gwaine survived with just the wind being forced from his lungs. The warlock’s hands were out in front of him, black fire burning fiercely from his palms, yet the figure in front of him didn’t react.

  
“You’re not going to hurt me.” Arthur said quietly and confidently, taking a small step towards Merlin. The magic pulsed again and he hesitated, but then took another.

  
“I’m going to kill them.” Merlin snarled, his eyes flashing and making him look out of this world.

 

“I don’t doubt it.” Arthur came even closer, not stopping this time even when the magic tried to warn him back. If Merlin wanted him out of the way, he would have suffered the same fate as his men. But something in the warlock was clearly recognising him, and Arthur had to hope that he could get close enough to make Merlin draw in the power before it was too late.

 

“Stay back.” Merlin raised his hands threateningly, the fire dancing off them and leaping for the ceiling. One spark dropped to the floor, immediately setting some of the clothing that had been left strewn around alight. Gwaine swore, scrambling to his feet even as Elyan came into the room. They didn’t wait for orders, but began dragging Lancelot out, getting their friend to safety.

  
“Or what..?” Arthur asked, not knowing whether he was pushing his luck as an almost feral smile crossed Merlin’s face.

  
“I’m going to destroy everyone who ever cursed his name.” Merlin vowed, his magic consuming him. His own grief was struggling to be let lose, he just wanted to break down and cry, to let Arthur hold him as he sobbed. But the magic was stronger, it had flooded his senses and was twisting his grief into something far more deadly. Deep down, Merlin could suddenly understand why the sorcerers became so twisted. With this amount of power, no one would stop him. He would avenge Will a hundred times over, he would bring him back from the dead...

 

Suddenly, Merlin gasped, the fire dying down from his hands as he turned to look at his friend once more. Gaius had said that he was more powerful than anyone they had ever encountered before, and considering what the unit’s job was, they must have come across some pretty strong sorcerers. Could Merlin do it? Could he actually bring Will back, undo all of the damage that had been done to his friend? Something of his thoughts must have shown in his face as Arthur sighed deeply, knowing that Merlin could be allowed to go no further. Raising his gun, he fired a single shot.

 

Immediately, Merlin’s hand sprung to his neck, and the black in his eyes melted into gold as he sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the dart sticking in. He wrenched it out, but had already fallen to his knees as the sedative worked its way swiftly into his system.

  
“Arthur?” He whispered, blue taking place in his orbs once more before he pitched forward. Arthur was on his knees, his arm around Merlin’s chest as the darkness claimed the man.

 

“I’m here, I’m right here...” He murmured back, not caring if Leon heard him from where the man was beginning to come into the room to help his commander with the now unconscious warlock.

 

The only problem was, Merlin’s magic was still leaking out of him even though its host was out cold.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin didn't know what was going on. But his magic did. And it was furious...

“What the hell is going on?” Leon practically yelled, looking down to where his commander was holding the now unconscious warlock, magic ripping around them. Arthur only shrugged, his mind already beginning to replay the events that had got them here.

 

_“Merlin?” Walking out of the bathroom, Arthur couldn’t deny that he was feeling on top of the world. When he had finally got over Gwen, he couldn’t have said, but knew for certain that whilst he would always care for her in a way – she had been part of his life for such a long time, she wasn’t just going to go again – it was no longer her who held his heart. He wasn’t sure if anyone did right now, but he did know that it was true what Leon, and to a certain extent, Gwaine, had been saying. He did care about Merlin, and not just because the teenager was good in bed. He cared about him despite the fact that every shred of common sense was yelling at him to stop being such a prat, that he was only going to get hurt again._

_  
“Hello? Merlin?” Arthur’s voice was teasing and light as he called out for the warlock, padding barefooted through the flat and making his way to the bedroom. It wasn’t as if the younger man would have gone anywhere, and Arthur wanted to talk to him. He wanted to tell the boy that the men had agreed he could stay for a little while longer, that he wouldn’t be thrown back into his old life just because the team had agreed that they wanted him gone. In a way, Arthur could see where Merlin was coming from, he hated to have his life dictated to him, despite the fact that was all it ever had been, and knew that Merlin had just had his whole world turned upside down. No one could fault him for wanting to gain back a little control._

_“Okay, where are you?” Making to take another step forward, Arthur frowned when his foot caught on something. He felt the roof of his mouth go dry as he slowly bent down, swallowing hard as he picked the hoody up off the floor, glancing about him as he did so. “Merlin? Merlin!”_

_  
Still clutching the item of clothing, Arthur banged his way through the whole flat, realising almost within seconds that Merlin wasn’t in it. It wasn’t big enough for him to be able to hide anywhere. Crashing out into the stair well, Arthur sprinted down them, charging out into the street beyond and staring up and down the road. Whilst there were several people milling about, none of them were a lanky youth with black hair. Even as he turned on his heel and ran back up to the flat, Arthur dug out his phone._

_“Knight 1? We’ve got a code red.” Immediately slipping back into “army-mode”, Arthur barely waited for Leon’s confused glance before he had hung up and dialled Gwaine. His car keys were missing, and Arthur knew his soldier had taken them. But it meant that hopefully, he would be able to round up the others and get them back here far quicker than if they made their separate ways. Gwaine responded in exactly the same tone as Arthur delivered his instructions, professional all the way. It might have technically been their day off, and he might normally have spent every minute trying to wind Arthur up, but when it came to their job, even Gwaine wouldn’t disobey a direct order._

_Knowing that he had to figure out where Merlin would have headed, Arthur flicked through the pile of files on the coffee table, searching for the one that had told him so much about the warlock, yet so little about the man. Frowning, Arthur then rifled through them again, and then a third time. But Merlin’s was nowhere to be seen. Cursing under his breath, the commander thought back to all of the times they had left Merlin in the flat on his own. No wonder he had moved his own file, it seemed the sort of thing he would do. Arthur knew he had to find it, and began a frantic search._

_He was still looking when the rest of the team piled back in, barely even looking up at the fact that Gwen had accompanied them back. She knew what their job was; she wouldn’t get in the way._

_  
“What are you looking for?” Lancelot asked, sitting down on the sofa and immediately plugging in his laptop, ready to pull up all the camera’s in the area._

_  
“Merlin’s file, I need a clue as to where the idiot would have gone.”_

_“Here.” Gwaine stepped forward, lifted up the cushion on the chair and slid out a familiar looking file. Arthur stared at him, causing the soldier to shrug. “He wouldn’t stop glancing at the seat when we were looking through the rest of them, and that’s where I would hide it.”_

_Arthur didn’t bother answering, but pulled the folder out of the man’s hand and began to rifle through it. He was looking for any sort of hint, any clue as to where Merlin had gone. The only place Arthur knew about was Avalon, and he highly doubted that even Merlin was stupid enough to go back to the very club where he had been caught in the middle of the day as there would be no one else around to hide behind. Finally, an address sprang out at him and the commander barked it to Lancelot, causing the man to start searching for the nearest cameras. Arthur sidled around to sit on the arm of the sofa and look over his shoulder._

_  
“You’ll have to hang on a moment, I’m still tapped into the feeds from three days ago when we were looking for Darg, I’ll need to re-enter the dates when I get the...”_

_  
“Stop!” Lancelot jumped at his commander’s yell, wondering why Arthur wanted to look at a picture from Merlin’s street three days ago. Percival and Elyan exchanged looks, moving closer in order to be able to peer over Lancelot’s shoulder, Gwen subtly moving herself to the other end of the room in order to let the boys work._

_  
“What is it?”_

_  
“Who’s that?” Arthur pointed to a young male with light brown hair that seemed to be familiar to him. Gwaine reached over and tugged the screen down towards him, causing Lancelot to frown warningly.  
  
“It’s Merlin’s mate. You know, the one in the club with him, can’t remember his name though.” Arthur nodded, remembering himself now. It would make sense that Merlin’s friend would turn up at his flat, wanting to know where he had got to. People don’t just disappear without a trace, and if the friend knew about the magic, he would know the potential danger Merlin was in. Arthur gave Lancelot a nod, indicating the man should continue, but this time, Elyan leant forward.  
  
“Hang on...” He said slowly, frowning at the screen and tilting his head to get a better look._

_  
“What?” Arthur practically snapped, not being sure how much more of this he could take. He didn’t want to be staring at the cameras, he wanted to be there, wanted to be able to drag Merlin back to the flat and tell him off for being an  idiot before pushing him down on the bed and making him realise how much Arthur had been worried._

_“Is that... is that Kanen? There, in the shadows of the building, I can’t quite make it out.” Arthur momentarily shut his eyes._

_  
“Lance, move forward three screens.” The soldier nodded, freezing the frame and clicking until everyone had moved by a few seconds. The man was stepping out from the shadows, and Arthur knew without a doubt it was the thug. He had no magic himself, but had been hired by the Resistance to generally cause trouble. They couldn’t do all of their acts with magic, not with the Round Table searching for them, and Arthur’s team didn’t have the authority to take Kanen down, he didn’t fit into their briefing and meant some sort of loophole had been created in order for him to get away with it. Arthur had tried to talk to his father about it, but the general had just insisted common acts of thuggery were for the common police to deal with._

_“He’s following Merlin’s friend.” Percival muttered softly, and Gwaine swore.  
  
“Arthur, we’ve got to get over there. Whether Merlin is there or not, we’ve got to make sure this guy is okay. You know what Kanen is capable of, it can’t be chance they are there. They must know about Merlin...”  
  
“Which means there is a leak at the holding cells.” Leon interrupted, and Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, exhaling sharply as he tried to process all of this. “No one else knows about Merlin other than us, Sigan and Alvarr. If they’ve got a message back, if they’ve traced Merlin... Arthur, they’ll be waiting for him.”  
  
“Not if we get there first. Right, Knight 5, get the van ready.” For a giant of a man, Percival was gone in the blink of an eye. “Knights 1 and 4, I want you to have stunners. 2, anti-magic tranquilisers, we don’t know who else is going to be there.”_

_  
“And me?” Gwaine asked as the rest of the team leapt to get the things Arthur was instructing. Arthur locked eyes with him._

_  
“You’re my best shot. Take the real thing. If Kanen is there, and is a threat, I don’t want you to hesitate. Take him down. If he has gone after this friend, they are engaging innocents, meaning they are declaring war. And if they get their hands on Merlin, and his power, we’re all screwed.”  
  
“Aye, Prince.” Gwaine’s voice might have been cheerful, but his eyes were serious as he moved across to the drawer to fetch his weapon. Arthur moved into his own room. Despite what he had told Merlin, he did keep a gun in the bedroom, and pulling it out, he quickly emptied the bullets. Instead, he slotted in a combination of anti-magic and a tranquiliser. He still had to hope that Merlin would head towards the only address they had for him, and if they did see him there, Arthur knew he had to make sure that Merlin didn’t run. If Kanen could track him down, so could Aredian. Arthur just hoped the witch-hunter had already tried Merlin’s home address and moved on. By the time Arthur had shrugged off his casual clothes and pulled on his army gear, the rest of the team had done the same. They had to treat this like a normal mission, despite the reason they only knew something was wrong was because they wanted to find their friend._

_  
“Let’s go.” The team set off in silence, Lancelot giving Gwen a quick kiss and promising to be back soon. Ironically, Merlin lived barely a few blocks from them, and inwardly, Arthur found himself smirking. They had probably been passing each other in the street for months and never noticed. But it meant it only took a matter of moments before they had reached the street they had only just been watching through Lancelot’s technology._

_  
“Knights 1 and 2, you are with me. The rest of you, wait for my signal.” The men nodded their understanding and Percival stopped the van for long enough for Arthur, Leon and Lancelot to jump out before driving to a more secluded stopping point. With the use of Lancelot’s gadgets, they quickly gained access to the building.  
  
“Flat 23. Be on your guard, we have no idea what we are about to find.” Arthur hissed under his breath as the three of them ran silently up the stairs. Arthur swallowed when he could see from half way down the corridor that the door was open, and taking a deep breath, Arthur stepped into the door way, his hand automatically closing around his gun just in case._

_“Shit.” Arthur couldn’t have said it better himself as Lancelot glanced around the destroyed room. Arthur stepped in, his boots crunching on the remnants of what he thought was a mirror. Dropping into a crouch, he kept his eyes alert, trusting his men to cover his back. Surveying the scene again from his new position, Arthur sighed._

_  
“Someone has been in here in the last half an hour or so, things have been moved.”  
  
_

_“Merlin?”_

_“Perhaps. Let’s try next door.” Leon led the way out, but Arthur found himself pausing in the doorway. “Sorry, Merlin.” He whispered softly, pulling the door closed even as Leon began knocking._

_  
“Merlin, I told you, you need help. You’re not borrowing my phone and disturb me again, and I’ll call the police.”_

_“It is the police,” Leon yelled back through the door. Arthur leant on the wall off to one side as they heard the door being opened, letting Lancelot and Leon handle it. Just as Leon made to open his mouth, Arthur changed his mind and stepped forward, grabbing the man by the front of his shirt._

_  
“Where is he? Where’s Merlin?”  
  
“I don’t know...”_

_  
“Sir...”  
  
“Where. Is. He?!”  
  
“Across the park!” The man practically yelped, his eyes darting between the men. Lancelot looked uncomfortable and Leon was trying to make Arthur let go. “At least, that is where I assume he is, at that friend’s of his place. Horrid the pair of them together, typical teenagers.... did you say you were the police? I want to report...”_

_“We lied.” Arthur pushed the man back into his flat and pulled the door shut again, ignoring the protests he could hear coming from within._

_  
“Knight 5?” Touching his hand to his comms, Arthur gestured for the others to follow him and set off at a run. “Meet us at the block of flats on the other side of the green.” Waiting for just long enough to hear Percival’s confirmation, Arthur jumped down the last few steps and sprinted forward. His men easily fell into step with him, and whereas no one had really looked twice as Merlin had gone on a desperate dash, when three men dressed in black practically flew past, there were a few gaping mouths. The van met them on the other side of the park, and they jumped in, Arthur quickly giving them a summary of what they had found as Percival brought them up to the flats._

_  
“Prince, I think we’ve found him.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Look outside.” Not being sure if he wanted to know what he was about to see, Arthur had jumped out, Leon, Lancelot and Gwaine on his heels. He barely even registered Elyan also joining the scramble to get out as they stared at the building in front of them. There were people milling around the entrance, staring at the building in shock and fear as it began to shake, the windows clearly having exploded outwards if the glass littering the area was anything to go by. It almost looked like an earthquake – apart from the agonising scream that suddenly filled the air._

_  
“Merlin.” Arthur muttered, taking a step forward but being pulled to a stop as Leon grabbed his arm.  
  
“What about Kanen? What if he is in there and using Merlin as bait, you know how much Morgause wants you dead.”_

_“They don’t know we have anything to do with Merlin. And Kanen can’t take all of us on. Besides,” Arthur broke off, locking eyes with Gwaine. “You have your orders.” The soldier nodded his head in a soft salute, and Leon let go. He seemed to realise that nothing he said was going to get through to his commander, not when Arthur wanted to be in that building._

_  
The commander had charged in, his men on his heels. But the sight that had awaited him..._

“Arthur?” Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Arthur blinked himself out of his thoughts and glanced up into Leon’s confused expression.

  
“I’m fine.” He muttered, subconsciously tightening his hold on the unconscious youth in his arms.

  
“What do we do about..?” Leon gestured helplessly around him, indicating the way that the walls still seemed to be shaking. It wasn’t with the same intensity as before, but there could be no denying what was happening. Merlin’s magic was still more than active even despite the fact that he was unconscious. Arthur had never known that to happen before, and yet he also knew that even if they were to put the bands on him, it wouldn’t do any good. It had only stopped him before because they had hit him with everything they had and Merlin hadn’t been as desperate as he was now. This time, it wasn’t Merlin reacting, it was his magic.

  
Arthur sighed, looking down at him. Even out cold, Merlin’s grief could be seen on his face, and Arthur brushed his hair back, gently pressing a kiss to his forehead. He wouldn’t have been that affectionate if Merlin was awake, but there was something about him now that made him look so vulnerable despite the power pouring out from him that gave Arthur an irrational urge to just protect him from everything.

 

“There is only one thing that can stop his magic.”

 

“But...” There could be no doubting the confusion in Leon’s voice. He knew what Arthur was referring to, the handcuffs. But they had never left the flat before, what good would they be here, right when they needed them? Yet at the same time, it didn’t really come as a surprise as Arthur looked guilty and slowly drew them out of his back pocket. Arthur couldn’t bring himself to snap them around Merlin’s wrists though. Unlike before, he didn’t want to restrain the warlock’s power, but wasn’t sure what choice he had. Merlin was dangerous like this, especially considering he clearly wasn’t in control in the slightest.

  
“Prince?” The voice wasn’t coming from Leon this time, but through his ear piece.  
  
“Go ahead, Knight 3.” Arthur ordered, waiting for Gwaine to speak again.

 

“Lance’s machines are going wild with warnings in here.” It was more than apparent they had managed to get their unconscious comrade back to the van.

  
“What with?”  
  


“I’m not sure. But considering he has a cartoon picture of the devil popping up, I can only guess on one thing.” Arthur shut his eyes, his heart clenching. Gwaine’s next word confirmed all his fears.

  
“Aredian.”

  
“Tell Knight 5 to get the van around the back, we’ll meet you there.” Snapping off the communications, Arthur took a deep breath, closed his eyes and snapped the restraints around Merlin’s wrists. Immediately, all of the shaking stopped as the magic was pulled back into the host. Merlin let out a moan, and Arthur had a feeling he was somehow feeling his magic bucking to be let lose again, but it wasn’t enough to bring him back to consciousness.

  
“Sorry, Merlin.” Arthur whispered, tipping the warlock over his shoulder. Leon didn’t say anything, but let his commander carry Merlin out first, shutting the door behind them and hiding the mess in the room. No doubt Aredian’s many sensors had indicated that magic was being used in the area, and Arthur knew they had to get out of here, fast. It was a good job Merlin was so scrawny, for they were able to still run even with the teenager draped over Arthur’s shoulder. Leon kicked open the fire escape to the flats, immediately setting off alarms and the two ran out. Considering there were already people out of the building anyway, Arthur didn’t think that anyone would really blink at the loud wail now echoing out, only silencing when the door shut again.

 

Percival came skidding around the corner as they ran out, and this time, the van didn’t stop moving. Elyan threw the door open and Leon leapt it on the move, Arthur running behind. In a well practised ease, Merlin was handed over, Arthur jumped in and slammed the door shut. Percival didn’t hesitate, but floored it, racing them away from the area before the one man who could destroy them all realised that they were involved. Elyan glanced towards the restraints cuffing Merlin’s hands in front of him, but didn’t say anything. Arthur knew his men knew him too well. It wasn’t about restraining the warlock’s magic this time, it was about trying to keep him safe whilst they let Merlin come to grips with his grief. If Merlin couldn’t control the magic, Arthur wasn’t sure what his next move would have to be. He had never thought of the man he had let into his flat, his bed and dare he say it, his heart, as dangerous, but seeing just how powerful he was back there... Arthur knew they were dealing with some serious magic.

 

The team travelled in silence, and Arthur knew they were all trying to process what had just happened. As their commander, he supposed that it was up to him to say something, but found that all he could do was drop to his knees and pull Merlin around until the teenager’s head was resting on his lap. He tried not to think about the fact that this was the third time Merlin had been unconscious in the back of their van. Arthur could only hope that it wasn’t going to become something of a habit, for he wasn’t sure whether he could take much more. But never before had Arthur been so thankful for only a short journey, enabling him to avoid the stares of his men as the van came to a stop.

 

Once more swinging Merlin over his shoulder, Arthur let the rest of the men fall in around him. Leon and Gwaine took the rear, and Arthur could almost feel the tension coming off from them. Their thoughts on Aredian was about the only thing those two ever had in common. Elyan and Lancelot led the way, and Percival doubled back to make sure the other entrances were covered and no one was following them. Arthur didn’t really think about the formation until they reached the flat, but then he couldn’t have been more grateful.

 

Both Lancelot and Elyan went straight to Gwen, who looked horrified at seeing the team coming back with an unconscious young man swung over Arthur’s shoulder and all of their faces grim. Lancelot sat her down and Elyan had his hand resting on her shoulder, but Arthur didn’t notice. Instead, he carried Merlin straight through to the bedroom and gently put him down. Kicking off his shoes, he climbed on the bed next to him, pulling Merlin around until the teenager’s head was resting against his chest.

 

Arthur had no idea how long he simply lay there for, trusting that his men were sorting themselves out without him. He had seen the look Leon had sent his way just as he had disappeared into the room and knew that he would have to talk to his second in command. If nothing else, he knew that he was going to have to admit to Leon that the man had been right about how Arthur was feeling about Merlin. How the man had realised before the commander himself, Arthur had no idea, but he knew after his behaviour today, it was a potential risk to them all if he continued to deny it. But the talk could wait until later, for Arthur not only was reluctant to leave Merlin, he also found himself off to sleep.

 

Not that it lasted long though, for he felt the second Merlin began to return to consciousness. His entire body stiffened and Arthur heard a slight sob before hands were trying to push him away. Whilst he knew there was nothing Merlin could do to force him, not with his magic restrained, Arthur still moved. He rolled neatly off the bed, crouching down but reaching forward, cupping Merlin’s face and trying to get him to open his eyes to look at him.

 

“Merlin?”  
  


“No, no, no, no, no...” Merlin was mumbling under his breath, his whole body tense and rigid.  
  
“Merlin, it’s okay. It’s just me, you’re safe, I promise.”

 

“No!” The mumble went straight to a full blown scream of denial and Arthur found himself almost falling backwards in surprise. One look at Merlin’s face and he knew that no matter what he said, Merlin wasn’t really hearing him. His eyes were wide and his pupils blown slightly, sheer shock over what he had just seen meaning that nothing in front of him was being registered. Arthur knew the expression, he had seen it on many people’s faces after their first encounter with a sorcerer, and knew that Merlin was somehow stuck in his own mind. All he could see was the scene that he had walked in on, and Arthur knew he was still seeing Will’s body.

 

“Merlin, look at me.” Arthur ordered, and something in Merlin’s subconscious reacted to the commanding note in Arthur’s voice. His eyes opened, and he struck out without warning, his nails drawing blood across Arthur’s cheek.

  
“I’m going to kill them!” He snarled, and Arthur was shocked to see the golden tinge in Merlin’s eyes. The magic wasn’t breaking free, it couldn’t get past the cuffs, but it was there, just under the surface. It wanted to be used, and Merlin wasn’t thinking straight in order to stop it. As he watched Merlin try and wrench his hands apart whilst using his legs to kick himself up from the bed, Arthur ran to the door.

  
“Percival, I need you.” Arthur turned just in time to see Merlin look like he was about to run at him. “Now!”

 

Yelling his last command, Arthur moved forward. He doubled behind Merlin and wrapped his arms firmly around him, pinning them to his sides as Merlin fought furiously to get lose. Arthur knew that there was nothing Merlin could do to hurt him, and just gritted his teeth as the warlock stamped on his foot and drove his elbow back, trying to make Arthur let go.

  
Finally, he seemed to realise that Arthur wasn’t going anywhere, and he sagged. Taking Merlin’s weight, Arthur lowered them both to the floor, still keeping a strong hold on him as he carefully spun Merlin around.

 

“It’s okay, I’m here.” Merlin seemed to finally register the words and he looked up at Arthur.

 

“I’m going to kill them.”  
  
“No, you’re not, that’s not you. But we’ll help you, we’ll look after you.”

 

“No.” Merlin snarled, the colour still flickering in his eyes violently. Somehow, Arthur understood what was going on. Merlin was still in shock, he wasn’t truly appreciating what was going on around him. But his magic did. His magic knew that Arthur was responsible for restraining it and therefore potentially stopping it seeking the revenge it was after, and it was furious. As Merlin wasn’t truly thinking straight, the magic had taken over those thoughts and was using him to lash out.

  
“You are going to get the hell out of my way.” Arthur shook his head sadly.

  
“I’m sorry, Merlin. I’m so sorry, for everything...” His soft words, however, fell on deaf ears and Merlin suddenly threw all of his weight forward. Arthur had only been resting on his knees and so fell back. Before he could think of doing anything, Merlin’s bound hands found his throat.

  
“I am going to kill them all for what they did.”

 

“This isn’t you...” Arthur muttered, trying to free his hands from where they were trapped between the two bodies in order to make Merlin let go. “Come on, Merlin, it’s me, why are you trying to kill me?”

  
Merlin’s hands stayed where they were, but suddenly, he blinked.

  
“I don’t know.” He whispered, tears filling his eyes and spilling unchecked down his face. “I don’t know what’s going on! They killed him, Arthur, they killed him and there was nothing I could do to help...”  
  
“Shh, it’s okay.” Arthur managed to push Merlin off, and yet hold him close at the same time as Merlin simply shook, trembling violently. Arthur could feel him shivering, he could feel the way huge sobs were beginning to tear from him and yet simply nodded as Percival walked into the room.

  
“It’s all going to be okay...” He whispered, using one hand to pull back the edge of Merlin’s collar whilst his free hand held the warlock against his chest. Percival understood the command, and swiftly slid the needle into Merlin’s neck. As he pushed the sedative into the warlock’s body, Arthur felt Merlin tense.

 

“Shh,” he soothed, nodding in appreciation as Percival stepped back. He didn’t leave the room, but he gave them space as the drug took Merlin under. As soon as he felt the warlock completely sag, Arthur shut his eyes and sighed.

  
“We need Gaius. I have no idea how to deal with this kind of grief, it’s consuming him. I can’t exactly unbind him when he is like this, he could have killed me then given the chance. Yet we can’t leave him like this.” Arthur glanced up at his soldier, and knew Percival was seeing a look he had never truly seen on Arthur’s face before. His commander was way out of his depth, and had no idea how to deal with Merlin.

 

“I’ll make some calls.” Percival muttered softly, gripping Arthur’s shoulder for a moment before leaving the room. Climbing to his feet, Arthur once more placed Merlin back on the bed, brushing his hair back.

  
“What am I going to do with you?” He whispered softly, yet again climbing back on the bed himself. For the first time in a long while, Arthur had no idea what the answer to that question was.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grief is a powerful thing.

Arthur was never a man that would admit to pacing. His father had told him that it showed indecision, uncertainty and nerves, all of which shouldn’t even exist in a commander. If they did exist, they were to be deeply hidden so no one could get hint of them and therefore wouldn’t be able to use them against him. But Arthur wasn’t in the midst of a battle against someone, or something, that wanted him dead. He was in his own lounge, surrounded by the people he trusted most in his live – which ironically did not include the same man that had given him that advice. Percival had managed to get through to Gaius, and Arthur had ignored the man’s many questions by the time they got him to the flat, instead just ushering him through to the bedroom. What he hadn’t been expecting was for Percival to be beckoned into the room and Arthur shut firmly out.

  
“You know you’re wearing a hole in the floor, right?” Arthur merely grunted in acknowledgment to Gwaine’s words. The man was sprawled across the floor –albeit wedged slightly in the corner for fear of being trampled on – and had tilted his head back to watch his commander.

  
“You might not care, but right now, you are walking over the spot I happen to sleep in, so will you sit down?” There was a sharp and almost commanding note in Gwaine’s voice that wasn’t often heard and Arthur found himself obeying despite himself. Leon shot him a rueful grin, but didn’t say anything. That told Arthur enough – the man had also wanted him to sit down. Elyan was already on the sofa, his head resting back as he stared with unseeing eyes at the ceiling, arms splayed across the back of the seat. Lancelot was in the kitchen area, and Arthur didn’t need to look over to know that he was still holding Gwen in his arms. He had been ever since he and Gwaine had explained what was going on and the latter had gone into slightly too much detail regarding Will’s death. It took a lot to rile Lancelot up, but Arthur had honestly thought that he was going to punch his comrade for upsetting his girlfriend.

 

“He’ll be okay, you know.” Elyan suddenly said softly, rolling his neck so that he could glance at Arthur out of the corner of his eye. “It’s not like he is sick or anything, Gaius will be able to help him.”

  
“He could just kill us all unless we keep him restrained like a common criminal.”  
  


“You didn’t have a problem with that before, mate. And that was with him saying that he wouldn’t kill us.” Gwaine muttered, his tone rather serious. This wasn’t just affecting Arthur, Merlin had been in their home for over a week. It was admittedly not a long time, but considering the unit weren’t used to outsiders, he had managed to worm his way into all of their hearts, not just Arthur’s. The commander wasn’t the only one affected, but he still managed to glare at Gwaine all the same.

  
“Then was different.”  
  
“Why, because he wasn’t shagging you?” Elyan’s head shot up and he tensed, clearly expecting some sort of response. Arthur was too highly strung right now to let something like that go, and sure enough, a muscle in his jaw throbbed.  
  
“Enough.” Leon sighed, shifting position where he was sitting on the floor, reaching out a hand and resting it on Arthur’s ankle in a calming gesture that also served as a warning and a reminder to his superior not to let Gwaine wind him up.

 

“If we have to keep him restrained...” Leon’s hand tightened in warning as Arthur shifted. “Then so be it until he has calmed down. Grief is a powerful thing. You know this, Arthur.” The last part was added on in an undertone and Arthur pulled his foot away, glancing in the opposite direction.

  
“Don’t bring my mother into this.”

  
“I’m not. But you have seen what grief can do to people...”

 

“This isn’t just grief.” Another voice interrupted their conversation and Arthur jumped off the sofa so fast that he wouldn’t have been surprised if Elyan suffered from whiplash as a result. Swallowing hard, he took a few steps towards where Gaius had appeared, subtly trying to peer into the bedroom behind them. Well, he thought it was subtle until Percival shifted his position, effectively blocking the view and smiling softly when his commander glared at him.

 

“What do you mean?” Lancelot asked softly, finally coming out of the kitchen but still holding Gwen’s hand. For the first time in a long while, Arthur found that it didn’t bother him in the slightest and he even made to smile. But then he remembered why it was that it didn’t affect him, and the state Merlin was now in.

  
“Grief is part of it, pass me a glass of water would you, Gwen, dear? Thank you...”  
  
“Gaius.”  
  


“Patience, dear boy. I’m sure your father told you that a commander must always be patient?”  
  
“I don’t give a damn what my father says, I want to know what is going on with Merlin!”

  
“Arthur!” Leon snapped, climbing to his feet and grabbing Arthur’s arm in order to pull him back a few paces from where the blond had been steadily advancing on Gaius. He probably had no idea he was even doing it, no one could deny that Arthur was passionate about anything that caught his attention, and the old man’s advice was doing nothing to calm him down.

 

“He’s in love.” Gwaine said in a stage whisper, and Arthur turned his glare on him.

 

“I am _not_.”

  
“Fine, then the kid is the best...”

  
“Enough!” Arthur may have been the commander, but there were times when Leon knew that he just had to step in. Arthur and Gwaine were so similar in many aspects of their personalities, not helped by the fact that they were the same age and both had had an army upbringing, they were bound to clash at times. Leon mildly wondered how Elyan was so calm considering he too had that same life experience, but had no qualms about taking control if it meant shutting the pair of them up. “Gaius, please continue? Lance, put the kettle on.”

 

As Lancelot made to walk off, Leon whispered something in his ear and Lancelot nodded. Sparing a glance at Arthur as he did so, he moved back into the kitchen.

  
“What did you tell him?” Arthur couldn’t keep the suspicious note out of his voice even as Leon grabbed his arm and pushed him back down onto the sofa.

  
“To make yours a decaf. Gaius, you were saying..?” The old man took his time in answering, making himself comfortable in the chair as he did so. Arthur had to smile at the fact that he was forced to readjust the cushion from where they had pulled it up earlier. It was amazing that Merlin had been able to hide his file without any of them noticing, details were supposed to be one of their strong points. Then again, they had trusted him and he would have had hours to squash the cushion back into shape considering how long he had been left in the flat on his own. Now he was thinking about it, Arthur couldn’t help but find it ironic that the time Merlin had decided to run was the one time he had been with the commander. Arthur was supposed to be the best, their leader, and yet the warlock had disappeared on him rather than when he was with Lancelot or one of the others.

  
“Grief is playing a part on what is making Merlin’s magic spiral out of control the way it is, there can be no denying that. I’ve told you before that his magic is the strongest that I’ve ever seen, you did well to take the cuffs with you. I’m not even going to mention the fact that you shouldn’t even have them in your possession.”

 

It showed how much the entire team trusted and respected Gaius, for at his words they all squirmed like naughty school boys, Arthur especially considering he was the one to have stolen them from the base in the first place. He didn’t think that he would ever have the chance to test them out though, and now he had, he wished he hadn’t.

  
“His magic isn’t recognising you as friends any more, not since you restrained it. Don’t interrupt me, Arthur, didn’t I just say that you had done the right thing to do so? It wants revenge on the people that killed that poor boy, and quite rightly so after what Percival told me.”

  
“So it’s his magic rather than just grief?” Arthur cut in quietly. He was sitting further forward on the chair now, a frown on his face as he tried to process what Merlin must be going through. He had lost men before having served in the main body of the army before getting his own division, but never before had he witnessed anything like this. Then again, the men under his control didn’t tend to have powerful magic at their disposal.

  
“No.” Gaius sighed, running his hand over his eyes wearily but managing a genuine smile as Lancelot passed him a steaming mug. Taking his own coffee from the man with barely a nod of recognition, the commander found that all of his attention was locked on the old doctor as he moved closer to the edge of the sofa. He didn’t notice Elyan and Percival exchange amused looks at his behaviour.

 

“He’s in shock.”

  
“From the death?”  
  


“From it all.” Never before had Arthur thought of Gaius as old, yet there was no other word to describe how the man was looking at that moment in time. “I’ve given him something to help him sleep for now, but his mind can no longer process what the last week has brought to him.”

  
“But... I don’t understand.” Arthur began slowly, frowning in confusion. “He’s been with us for over a week, he’s been fine. More than fine. I’d understand shock over the death, it wasn’t nice and this is coming from someone who has seen things like that before. But why would it be shock over the whole thing?”

  
“You say he was fine? The chances are, he thought that he was fine too. But the boy has just had his life turned upside down – kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured, rescued whilst still being imprisoned, become emotionally (and physically) involved with the person technically responsible, escaped and then found his home ransacked and his best friend dead. His mind had been forcing him to be fine for the last week, it would have been his way of surviving. But now? Those walls have just come tumbling down.”  
  
Arthur didn’t know what to say. Merlin saw them as his jailers? He had been in shock the whole time he had been sleeping with the commander, all the things he had said about genuinely beginning to care for Arthur – for all of them – and not wanting to go this morning? Had it all just been the shock talking, his way of coping with the situation? The blond barely even felt Leon’s hand squeeze his shoulder comfortingly.

 

“Were his feelings true?”  
  
“Hmm?” Gaius didn’t seem to notice the impact his words had had on the team. It wasn’t just Arthur who was trying to process what had just been said. It might have been Arthur’s bed the warlock had been sleeping in, but all of them had made friends with the teenager – or so they had thought.  
  
“Everything Merlin said. Did he mean any of it or was it just his way of protecting himself?” Arthur couldn’t deny the rush of gratitude towards his second in command. Only Leon would know what Arthur was thinking and find the right way to express it other than blurting it out and causing a great big understanding. Subtlety wasn’t necessarily Arthur’s strong point.

 

“I would assume they were true. You saw how he was when you first brought me here when Arthur was sick. I saw how he was in the cells. Defiant and resistant. That would have continued if he wanted to protect himself. The last thing he would have done was let down his defences and let someone into his heart.”

 

Even Gwaine didn’t have the heart to mention the tiny smile that had made its way involuntary onto Arthur’s face at Gaius’ words. They all knew what he was like when he felt emotionally vulnerable and exposed, if Merlin had just been faking it, the chances were that he would have been back in the cells before Arthur began to think straight again.

  
“You say you gave him something to help him sleep? What happens when he wakes up?”

  
“You keep him warm and keep his fluids up. Try and always have someone with him at all times. Gwen, you can stay if the boys get called away, can’t you, dear?”  
  
“Um...” Gwen didn’t seem to know what to say. Her eyes bounced between her brother, her boyfriend and the commander. Arthur knew who she was really looking to for an answer, however, and he nodded softly. Her smile would have once made his heart pound, now it just made him feel like he had done the right thing.

  
“Of course.”

  
“Don’t force him to eat if he doesn’t want it, use those special drinks you have if he won’t eat to keep his nutrients up. Then all I can say is give him time. I’m not sure how he is going to be when he wakes up, so if he tells you he is fine and you can let him go, don’t listen to him. You boys are used to dealing with magic, and now with Merlin as well, I’m sure you’ll be able to tell the difference. Now, I really must be going.”

 

Finishing his drink, Gaius stood up. The rest of the team exchanged farewells and all seemed to gravitate towards either the bedroom or Percival, wanting to know what had been said whilst the pair were in there. Arthur, however, followed Gaius to the door. Just as the old man made to open it, the commander let his hand move forward and pressed his palm against the door, keeping it shut. Gaius glanced at him, then seemed to read something in Arthur’s expression. He didn’t say anything, but simply nodded and Arthur let go off the door. Both of them made their way into the corridor, Arthur shutting the door behind him again.

  
“What is it, my boy?” Gaius asked gently, realising that something must be wrong if Arthur didn’t want to say it in front of his men. Thinking it was to do with his new relationship with someone that, a week ago, had been branded his enemy, Gaius took a deep breath. But Arthur just glanced at the floor.

  
“I’m guessing that you want to know why I made you get two taxis, a train and a bus before Percival picked you up?” Gaius blinked, but nodded. He had been curious, but knew that Arthur could occasionally take after his father with bouts of paranoia, and considering who he knew the team to be hiding, he hadn’t really thought anything of it. He had done stranger things for Arthur and his Round Table.

 

“I think there is a leak at the unit.” Arthur was practically whispering, shifting uncomfortably as if the walls had ears.

  
“What makes you think that?”  
  
“Merlin. No one knew about him, Gaius, I’m sure. He couldn’t have lived a life that carefree if either us or the Resistance knew about him. And considering his power, I think the Resistance would have been more of a threat than we were, you saw what happened to him in the cells.”

  
“But they saw how restrained he was, that would have given away his power.” Arthur shook his head at Gaius’ reasoning, forcing himself to stay still when all he wanted to do was start pacing again.

  
“It’s not that. The boy’s death... that was Kanen’s work, we even have him on footage lurking around the area. Why would they suddenly know about him now, the very week that Merlin vanished from his previous life? Why would they hurt the boy so badly before killing him unless it was to get information? They knew exactly who Merlin was by that point – he could twist the uprising in their favour if he joined them. They wanted him, and would have done anything to get it. That means that someone told them. It was no one here, Gaius...”

  
“So you’re saying someone is passing on information to the Resistance?” Arthur nodded distractedly, running his hand through his hair and messing it up even more than it already was. The team were still in their army black, not having paused for a moment since they had realised that Merlin had gone. Even when they were just waiting to see what Gaius was going to say, none of them had risked missing anything by getting changed.

  
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I don’t get why they would have gone to his home address if it was either Sigan or Alvarr that got a message out, both of them saw it was us who got him out. Father wouldn’t believe them, I’m not worried about them telling him. But Morgana... if it was them, the Resistance would have come here, I’m sure of it. Meaning it had to be someone who didn’t know who was behind Merlin’s escape.”

  
“You think it was one of the team?” The shock in Gaius’ voice finally made Arthur look at him properly. He hated what he was about to do, but he nodded. He trusted Gaius more than anyone, possibly even more than his team. The man had helped raise him, he had been there when Uther had expected too much of his young son, he had been the one to get Arthur out of trouble whilst he was growing up. Never for a moment did the commander think that Gaius might necessarily know – he knew the old doctor wouldn’t let anything happen to the team that constantly kept him on his toes through magically induced injuries – but he wanted him to know.

 

“Who else could it be? Someone must have seen his power, passed the message on, and then realised that he had gone. How else would they know to go to his home address in case he was there?”  
  


“Arthur, you have to be careful what you are saying...”  
  
“I’m saying it to you, Gaius. If whoever this is finds out that he is with us... I won’t let any of my team get hurt for him, but yet... I don’t think I could bear it if he got hurt either. I don’t know, it’s like he has made himself part of the team in a week. I brought him here, I changed his life and not for the better. The least I can do is protect him.”  
  
“But who? The only people that know are myself, your father, your uncle and the guards involved.”

  
“Then it must be one of the guards. Father would die before he gave the Resistance anything, my uncle wouldn’t betray me like that and you... well, you’re you, aren’t you?”

 

“Thank you for that assessment.” Gaius responded drily, but stretched out a hand and rested it lightly on Arthur’s arm. His grip was just strong enough to be grounding and reassuring. “I will keep my eyes and ears open for you, Arthur.”  
  
“Just be careful.” Arthur half warned and half implored. He certainly couldn’t deal with the knowledge that he might have potentially be putting the old man in danger.

  
“What about your team, do you want them knowing?”

 

Arthur shook his head, glancing at the door as he did so.

  
“They already suspect something. But not until I know. We’ve been taking people to those cells for years, learning that someone we thought we could trust could be betraying us..? We’ve got enough to deal with right now, I’ll tell them when the time is right.”

  
“Keeping secrets never helped anyone, Arthur.” Gaius said gently, before giving his arm a small pat and stepping away. “I need to get back, but I’ll see what I can find out for you. And for heaven’s sake, keep the boy safe this time.”  
  
“I will.” Arthur promised, smiling as Gaius lifted a hand in farewell and disappeared down the stairs, moving surprisingly swift for a man of his age. For a moment, Arthur just stood there, but eventually he sighed and let himself back into the flat.

  
“Percy thinks he’ll be waking up soon, what Gaius gave him was more to calm him down, they didn’t actually expect it to make him fall asleep.” Elyan’s words greeted him even before he had stepped back into the flat, and Arthur nodded in understanding. That was why he could trust his team so much. Not one of them looked like they were going to question what he had been doing outside with Gaius for the last ten minutes.

  
“He’ll want you there, Sir.” Percival’s voice was calming and reassuring as always as Arthur glanced towards him. He was hovering in the doorway to the bedroom, the noises coming from the rest of the flat indicating the team were finally changing back into casual clothes. Percival only hadn’t left the room because of Gaius’ words to not leave Merlin on his own, so he was just waiting for his commander to take his place. Arthur moved across the room and Percival stepped aside to let him in. Before he disappeared though, Arthur turned to the rest of the men.

 

“Go back to what you were doing.”

  
“But, Sir...”  
  
“Arthur...”  
  
“I mean it.” Arthur cut through their protests with just a wave of his hand. “Things could get complicated in the next couple of days, and if Merlin doesn’t get control of himself soon, who knows when the next time we can have some rest is. This is your day. He is drugged, cuffed and calm right now, I don’t need you here. Lance, take Gwen out for dinner. The rest of you, go and get pissed for all I care, just make sure you are functioning by tomorrow morning.” The last part was added with a pointed look at Gwaine, but the man was just grinning. No one argued against Arthur this time, and ten minutes later, the door slammed shut as Elyan yelled at Gwaine to wait for him and Lancelot argued with Percival about getting a lift into town.

  
The silence was a blessing and Arthur just exhaled deeply, leaning against the wall for a long moment as his own mind tried to process what had just happened. The idea of someone betraying them troubled him deeply, for he knew they could have been passing on information for years if that was the case. Yet nothing had ever really happened – they had got every target they had ever gone after, and Arthur was sure that his father would have told him if there was a problem further down in the system. Arthur never asked what happened next, for he wasn’t sure whether he would want to know. A good soldier obeys orders without questions being asked, that was what he had always been taught. Yet ever since he had seen Merlin’s face looking at him out of the picture in his file, Arthur had been bursting to find out answers to things he had never considered before.

  
Hearing a slight whimper coming from within his room, the commander sighed. He couldn’t think of a traitor right now, not when he had to keep Merlin calm. After all, if Kanen had gone to Merlin’s flat, it would mean that he truly had no idea where the warlock was, meaning he had to be safe for now. At this moment in time, Arthur was convinced the greater threat was coming from the teenager himself, and the blond took a deep breath and walked into his bedroom.

 

It was obvious within a look that Merlin was indeed waking up, stirring and moving on the bed, small whimpers of distress escaping from him as he tried to pull his hands free. Thinking on what Gaius had said, Arthur moved back into the kitchen and poured a glass of water before returning. He simply put it to one side though, hitching himself on the bed. Merlin seemed to be alert enough to know he was there, for he instantly tried to roll away. Arthur simply put one hand on his shoulder though.

  
“It’s just me, Merlin.” He whispered softly, and the warlock turned back towards him. He didn’t open his eyes, but his bound hands moved forward, grabbing at Arthur’s shirt and pulling him closer. Arthur didn’t have time to react until Merlin buried his face in his shirt, his shoulders shaking slightly.

  
“It’s okay...” Arthur tried to make his voice soothing and reassuring, awkwardly draping his arm over Merlin’s shoulders and holding him close, feeling the trembles wracking his body. “You’re going to be okay.”  
  
Only a sniff met his words, but Arthur just wriggled further down the bed until he could hold Merlin properly. He could still feel the warlock’s hands trying to pull himself free of the cuffs, and after a few moments, Arthur rolled away. Sitting up, he picked up Merlin’s hands, preparing to take the restraints off. Merlin was going to hurt himself if he carried on like this.

  
“Leave them.” The voice was hoarse and rough sounding, barely even audible, but the hands pulled away as Arthur blinked in surprise.

  
“I’m not going to leave you tied up like a criminal.”  
  
“Please leave them.” Merlin’s voice implored and he pulled back from Arthur to look the commander in the eye. “I can’t control it right now, I don’t want to...” Hearing the way his breathing was picking up in something that could almost resemble panic and the tears swimming in his eyes, Arthur sighed.

  
“Okay, okay, I’ll leave them. You don’t truly think you’d hurt me, do you?”  
  
“Did before.” Arthur had no answer to that, so he just let his hands rest on Merlin’s shoulders and examined him critically. He looked a mess, there was no other word for it. But what caught Arthur’s attention the most was his eyes. They were red-rimmed from where he had clearly been crying, and tears still swam in them now. But Arthur didn’t think that he had ever looked at somehow who looked as haunted as Merlin did right now, and the commander found himself thinking of the words he had said to Gaius. It had been his fault that Merlin’s world was turned upside down, and now Arthur was looking at the consequences of that.

  
“You look a mess.” He blurted out before he could stop himself, and Merlin just blinked at him tiredly.

  
“You said I was gorgeous last night.” He huffed, snuggling back into Arthur’s chest and causing the older man to just blink in surprise. He didn’t know what he had expected after Gaius saying that Merlin was in shock, but it certainly wasn’t for the man to be as coherent as he was right now. Automatically, his arms went back around the teenager and he held him close.

 

“Asking to stay was enough, you know.” Arthur muttered, trying to do something to release the heavy tension that had settled over the room. Merlin gave a short laugh that almost immediately turned into a sob, but this time, Arthur didn’t try and stop him. Regardless of the fact that he could feel Merlin pressing his face into the commander’s shirt and already beginning to form a damp patch from the tears, Arthur just held him closer.

 

“I’m sorry, Merlin. This is all my fault. I’m responsible for all that has happened to you over the last week.”

 

Merlin’s breath hitched, but he didn’t pull back from the embrace. If anything, he seemed to snuggle in closer.

  
“Hasn’t all been bad.” He murmured softly, his voice barely audible, but causing Arthur to blink in surprise. “Besides, maybe you saved my life.”  
  
“What?” Arthur hadn’t realised that Merlin might have been thinking straight after all. From what Gaius had said, he didn’t expect the teenager to say anything, but considering the way he was still trembling violently, it was more than apparent that he was far from being okay.

  
“They went there for me, didn’t they? If you hadn’t taken me first, I’d probably be dead.” Arthur didn’t say anything, not wanting to say that they probably only knew to even go after him because Arthur and his team had drawn attention to the warlock and just how much power he had. Merlin fell silent, but Arthur could feel the damp patch slowly beginning to spread. He merely tightened his grip and held Merlin close as the teenager tried to get to grips with what had happened to his easy life.

 

He didn’t know how long he held Merlin for, but eventually, Arthur could feel the teenager’s breathing begin to even out. Arthur had been right when he said to his men that Merlin had been drugged, and being awake for even a short length of time had taken it out of him. As Merlin fell asleep, cradled against Arthur’s chest and still holding onto his shirt once more, Arthur couldn’t stop the tension from draining from his own body and the smallest of smiles crossing his face as he rested his head against the top of Merlin’s.

 

He managed to resist falling asleep himself, but never did he think that he would be so comfortable having a warlock in his arms.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations and confrontations.

Arthur sat curled up on the sofa, watching his men closely. After days of searching, they finally had a solid lead on Darg. For the first time since Merlin had come into their lives, they had a job to do, something that would return them to the normality of their lives. It seemed ironic that what they considered to be normal, most people couldn’t get their heads around in the slightest. Thinking about Merlin made Arthur glance down to one side, smiling softly. The teenager was curled up against him, one of Arthur’s arms slung casually over his shoulders and holding him close as Merlin slept.

 

It had been a few days since the disaster, and Merlin was slowly beginning to get there. He stubbornly refused to let them take the cuffs off him, and when Gwaine had tried to force the matter, Arthur had seen a look in Merlin’s eye that had made him call the soldier back. The warlock seemed genuinely scared of what his magic might do. It was the first time he had looked like this; he seemed to have a quiet confidence before that showed he was in control. But considering his mind still seemed to be trying to process what was going on, Arthur let him keep the cuffs on. Personally, he hated it, it reminded him too much of how they had caught Merlin in the first place, reminded him of the way they had destroyed the boy’s life. But if it was helping Merlin, then who was he to argue?

 

The few days after Merlin had come back to the flat had been tense ones. No one wanted to leave, yet the silence of things unsaid was stifling. It was only when Merlin finally left the bedroom and began talking properly again that the men – and Gwen, who still hadn’t left – seemed to finally blow out the long breath that none of them realised they had been holding. Gaius said that Merlin would be on edge for a few days, that it would take time for him to truly adapt to what is happening around him. That seemed to be true, he snapped, he fought, he cried (even if Arthur was the only one to see that side to him), but slowly progress seemed to be happening. Leon had been forced to call Gaius again when Arthur was driving him mad about the amount Merlin seemed to be sleeping, but with the reassurance from the doctor that was normal, life had continued.

  
For a grand total of a day, anyway. By the next, Arthur had come out of his room to find Lancelot and Elyan talking quietly, casting anxious glances over to where Gwaine was still asleep, sprawled across the floor. Knowing that Lance had been on the lookout for any sign of Darg and the concerned looks they were shooting their friend was enough to tell Arthur that they had found something. Now, four hours later, he was listening to Percival and Leon running a plan past him. They had thought it through well, just as their commander knew they would, and Arthur only had a few things that he wanted to change.

 

“Whatever you do, don’t let him cut you.”  
  
“We weren’t exactly planning on it.” Arthur shot Elyan a wry smile, but found that his eyes flickered back to Gwaine again. It was unusual for the man not to be involved in the planning, even if his ideas did normally get shot down for being so ludicrous. It was why planning normally turned into a pillow fight on the best of days, and Arthur wouldn’t have it any other way. Tension built when they spoke about what they were about to do, but Gwaine’s joking nature normally pulled the plug on it. The fact the man had yet to say anything, but was merely staring at the opposite wall with his hands clenched meant that tension was slowly getting worse and worse.

 

“I mean it. If he has those crystals still and gets your blood on them, he can impersonate you. I don’t fancy bringing another sorcerer back here by accident, thank you very much.” As he spoke, he couldn’t resist sending Merlin a fond glance as the teenager chose that moment to snuffle slightly in his sleep and curl in closer to Arthur.

 

“Gwaine?”  
  
The man barely even acknowledged Arthur, and the rest of the team all flinched slightly.

  
“Gwaine? Knight 3, respond.” The commanding note coupled with the words finally made Gwaine look around, unable to disobey a direct order like that.

  
“What?”

 

“I know we talked about this. I know how you feel. But are you sure that you can handle this?”  
  
“Did we question whether you could handle going after Merlin? No. So don’t doubt me, Sir.” Arthur blinked at the snapping tone and felt his body rippling with anger, determined to remind his soldier of precisely who it was that was in charge of his operation. Before he could say anything, however, a hand closed in his shirt. Arthur blinked, glancing down in surprise. Merlin’s eyes were still closed and his breathing was still even, yet he had definitely moved.

  
“Don’t be mean.” The mumble was so low that Arthur wasn’t even sure if anyone else could hear it, but it had given Gwaine enough time to stalk off into the kitchen. He was still close enough that if they carried on talking about the mission, he wouldn’t miss out on any of the details. Yet at the same time, his message was clear: he wanted to be left alone.

 

“Can I, I mean, do you mind, not that I think you would, but can I talk to him?” Arthur smiled. It was taking Gwen some adjusting to be back in the flat. Of course, it didn’t help now that whilst she had been given the only mattress they had (not through lack of trying on his behalf, yet Arthur found his men just seemed to prefer the floor) and her and Lancelot were left alone in their corner, it wasn’t the same. Last time, she had been in Arthur’s bed, and Arthur knew she was worried about how the men would see her. Considering her brother and boyfriend were seriously protective, and Arthur himself found that his own protective notions towards her hadn’t completely disappeared, no one would dare to say anything. Not that anyone wanted to; it was almost impossibly to think anything bad about Gwen.

  
“Be my guest.” Arthur sagged back onto the sofa from where he had tensed, feeling Merlin attempting to keep him down despite the fact that the teenager was still pretending to be asleep. It didn’t make Arthur wonder just how long he had been awake for, however. Gwen rose fluidly from where she had been leaning against Lancelot’s legs, and when Arthur spared a glance over his shoulder ten minutes later, her hand was resting on Gwaine’s arm as she spoke to him in a gentle voice.  
  
“So when do we go?” Percival asked. The plan was in place, all they had to do now was carry it out. Arthur watched Gwaine for a few more moments, trying to gauge how long it would take for his man to be able to pull himself together.

  
“Two hours.” He stated firmly, receiving affirmations from each member of his team present. For a long moment, they all just glanced at each other before Elyan suddenly stood up and walked off without another word, heading for the weapons cabinet. As the rest of the men began to move, Arthur watched Elyan checking the guns for a long moment. He wouldn’t say anything, he knew that this was their way of preparing themselves mentally for what they were about to do, but there was something calming in the way the man’s hands moved.

 

“Arthur?” Hearing Merlin’s whisper, Arthur glanced down. This time, the warlock had his eyes open, gazing up at the commander with a frown on his face.

  
“Hey,” Arthur murmured softly, smiling down at him.

  
“Can we talk?”

  
“Merlin, I’ve got...”  
  
“Some macho mission to carry out, I know. I am here, you know. But can we talk?” Arthur made to protest, made to make some excuse about needing to prepare. But Merlin had clearly heard him say that they weren’t going for another couple of hours. And his face looked serious. If the commander didn’t talk to him now, he knew that he would spend the whole time wondering what it was that Merlin had wanted to talk to him about. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, not when they were up against Darg.

 

“Come on then.” Unwrapping himself from Merlin, Arthur climbed off the sofa and almost didn’t think about the way he then casually hauled the warlock up.  They had all adjusted to not only having Merlin in the flat, but the way he was now, restrained and prone to suddenly flying off into fits of temper. Catching Leon’s eye, Arthur smiled softly as he let Merlin walk into the bedroom first. He knew that his second in command had been concerned over his change of behaviour since Merlin had turned up, yet Arthur knew he wasn’t about to change back, either. For some reason, there was something about Merlin that meant he seemed to have it bad this time.

 

Neither of them said anything until Merlin had climbed awkwardly onto the bed and rested himself against the pillows. Arthur initially hovered by the door, but then realised that he was acting like he was nervous, in his own damn bedroom. Striding purposefully forward, he flung himself onto the edge of the bed before turning to face Merlin. Judging by the amused look on the warlock’s face, he had known precisely why Arthur had moved in the way that he had.

  
“So? What do you want to talk about?” Arthur didn’t mean for it to come out that bluntly. But although everyone in the whole flat could see the way that he was caring for Merlin now, it was normally done when the warlock was asleep or not around. Merlin himself didn’t necessarily realise how much Arthur was changing for him. Yet being able to hide what he was doing from the very person he was doing it to meant that Arthur didn’t have to talk about it. He didn’t have to open up about how he was feeling. The last time they had done that and practically attacked one another showed that he was not the best person to talk about his emotions. Yet there was a look in Merlin’s eye that seemed to imply that was precisely what he was going to have to do.

 

“Gwen.”

 

“Gwen?” To say that Arthur sounded astonishment was an understatement, but Merlin nodded seriously, hitching himself into a more upright position.

  
“And us.”

 

“Right...” Arthur began slowly, having a feeling that this conversation was going to take him deep into uncomfortable territory, possibly bordering on awkward.

  
“Arthur, Gwen is the reason why I even left the flat.” Arthur could only blink. He had heard Merlin’s words, but that didn’t mean that he understood them by any stretch of the imagination. There was no way Gwen would have forced Merlin from the flat, she had been with either him or Lancelot the whole time she had been here... His thoughts were cut off as Merlin suddenly chuckled.

  
“Always the soldier, aren’t you? I don’t mean that she forced me out. I heard what you said to her, how you would never have with another what you had with her, and I’ll admit it, I was jealous. I...are you laughing at me, Arthur Pendragon?”  
  
Arthur couldn’t help it. That had possibly be the most honest he had ever been with Gwen, and Merlin had to go and get the wrong end of the stick. If the outcome of his escape hadn’t been quite so serious, Arthur would have found it even funnier than he was right now, but still couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

  
“I can’t believe it! I just wanted to talk to you, if I knew that you were taking me for a fool...”  
  
“Oh shut up, you idiot.” Arthur finally managed to stop himself laughing, realising now that was possibly not the best thing he could have done considering what Merlin had just admitted. By the time he looked up at the warlock, Merlin was trying to climb back off the bed. Arthur knew it was only because of his bound hands that he hadn’t already made it out of the door.

  
“Stop being so dramatic and listen to me, Merlin.”  
  
“Are you just going to laugh at me again?”  
  
“I wasn’t laughing at you. Honest!” Despite the pout on Merlin’s face that seemed to suggest that he didn’t believe Arthur, he at least stopped moving and allowed Arthur to pull him back into the middle of the bed again. It made sense though. Up until now, Merlin had refused to let Gwen help him the way the others did. Arthur had assumed it was because he didn’t know the girl as well, but now he knew the truth, he couldn’t believe he had missed it. It was so obvious. Merlin had been jealous for this entire time, to the extent that he had tried to run from the one place that would keep him safe. Shaking his head fondly, Arthur lifted a hand and let it brush back a stray lock of hair from Merlin’s face before letting it drop back to his lap, not being sure if Merlin was going to allow the gesture or not.

 

“I can’t take back what I said, nor do I want to. Gwen opened my eyes to a lot of things, Merlin. But it wasn’t what you thought, honest. You must have missed the ending. I will never have what I had with her again because I don’t want to. Merlin, I thought she had broken my heart when I decided to break it off so she could be with Lance. But now, now I know. It was just the excuse I needed to move on without feeling too bad about it. Would you believe me if I said that I’m over her?”

  
“Really?” Merlin’s words might have been questioning Arthur, but his tone had suddenly become seductive and he kissed the side of Arthur’s neck. “Why would you be over her? Could it be that you found someone else?”

  
Arthur turned, meeting Merlin’s next kiss and responding to it, his hand drifting up until it was resting on the warlock’s neck.

 

“I think you know the answer to that. I can’t believe you thought...”  
  
“Shut up, Arthur.” When Merlin’s cuffed hands looped over his head and pulled him down, Arthur decided that it was about time he did as he was told.

 

Yet when it came to leaving the flat two hours later, there was still a smile on his face. Merlin stood with Gwen in the flat doorway, watching as the unit disappeared from sight. But Arthur wasn’t sure if he had ever seen the pair of them look so relaxed with each other. Taking off after his men, he replayed the promise he had made the warlock that he was going to come back safely over and over in his head. For the first time in a very long time, he was fighting for something else other than just doing his job. He didn’t want to just bring Darg under control as quickly as he could for the sake of getting the sorcerer of the streets. Watching Lancelot give Percival directions to where they had last seen the man, Arthur smiled to himself even as Leon shot him a curious look. He wanted to get the job done as fast as possible because he had something to go home to.

 

MMM

 

Gwaine knew that heading down a dead-end alleyway on his own was not the best idea he could have had. The drop off had gone according to plan, the team all getting out at separate times. It not only helped to not draw suspicion to them, it also meant that they could spread out. Naturally, Arthur had been the first one out, and Gwaine had been unable to express the relief that had caused him. It was the first ordinary thing to happen with his commander ever seen Uther had dropped around Merlin’s file. Maybe the kid had begun to change their lives, but they had been doing this for years. A few weeks surely couldn’t change everything? Percival would stay with the van, ready to bring it rushing back towards whoever located the sorcerer first, but the rest of them would take to the streets, searching.

 

In a way, Gwaine preferred doing it like this. They all knew not to try and take a sorcerer on in a fight. But being on his own meant that he could swear and curse if he wanted to, not having to bear in mind that his superiors were standing right next to him. He could set his own pace whilst searching, and just allow himself to switch onto automatic rather than attempting to follow Arthur’s complex hand signals as the commander tried to tell them where to search.  
  
Considering who they were going after, and his past history with the man in question, Gwaine was glad to be on his own. He knew that the anti-magic they had all drunk before leaving the van meant they had a time restriction on how long they had to search for the man, but Gwaine wasn’t sure how much good it would do against Darg. The man used his knives on his victims, then his magic afterwards. For the first time ever, it was something that the soldier was thankful for. After all, if Darg had to get close enough to wound them in order to work his magic, it also mean that Gwaine could strike back. He wouldn’t be at the man’s mercy for once, held back with magic. He would be close enough to pound his fist into the sorcerer’s face before calling in that the target was down and out.

 

Despite the plan that was forming in his head with just how much damage he could get away with causing whilst doing it under the pretence of self-defence, Gwaine knew that he first of all had to find Darg. Lancelot’s co-ordinates had led them to this street, and Gwaine had a feeling that the man was still around here somewhere. Yet he either knew the team was onto him and simply hiding, or luck was on his side and taking him out of their eye-line without him even realising it.

 

That was why Gwaine had decided to check down the alleyway. Normally, anything with a dead-end was not to be touched unless they were in pairs, yet Gwaine had never been one to always obey the rules. He took the approach of rules being there to be broken, and knew that it would take too long to call one of the others over just to have a look. Besides, he was beginning to lose hope they would actually find Darg, so what would be the harm in looking down an empty street?

  
“Hello, Gwaine. Long time no see.”

 

The soldier had never whipped around as fast as he did then. Stepping out from behind one of the bins, a smug smile on his face, was the face of Gwaine’s nightmare. Fat and balding, just the way the man remembered him, Gwaine knew this was Darg’s true appearance. In a way, that was something of a relief, it meant that he hadn’t hurt anyone lately in order to work his crystals. His face clouding over with anger, Gwaine momentarily put aside all of his training and common sense, and went for his gun.

 

It was only sedatives the weapon was loaded with, but there was something satisfying about emptying the gun slowly and steadily, not ceasing his fire until a clicking noise indicated the barrel was empty.

  
“Well that was a waste.” Gwaine blinked, then swore violently. He had thought that Darg had cleared the bins, that he would have been struck by ever single bullet that had left Gwaine’s gun. What he hadn’t noticed was the slight shimmer in the air surrounding the man even as he drew his knife in a controlled manner. It seemed his magic had progressed more than Gwaine had anticipated, and rather than taking note of the situation and knowing where to aim, the soldier had just been stopped by a mere shield. Angrily stuffing his gun back into its hiding place, Gwaine touched his ear.

  
“Knight 3 to all Round Table. Target located, eastern side of the street.” He tried not to feel nervous by the way Darg was still smiling at him even as he heard Arthur bark his confirmation. No doubt his commander would already be racing towards them, but right now, Gwaine had bigger problems to deal with. Like the fact that he had no weapons and Darg was approaching him.

 

It was known throughout the unit that Gwaine would fight dirty if he needed to. He didn’t seem to have the same sense of nobility that some of the others did about making sure his opponent had a fighting chance. After some of the things he had seen, he didn’t feel like they could afford that luxury. Yet despite all the tricks that he knew, Darg seemed to be one up on him for everything. It only took the sorcerer a few moments before he had the soldier in a gasping heap at his feet, Gwaine’s mind still trying to work out how he had ended up down there in the first place.

  
“You’re too predictable. Your movements are executed with anger, making it obvious what you are about to do. You need to control your emotions better, Gwaine. Surely your commander told you that? Or does Pendragon really not care what happens to you?”  
  
Gwaine ignored the goading and let his hand drift up towards his ear piece again, preparing to warn the team. This time, Darg simply caught hold of his wrist and forced it back down again, using his foot to roll Gwaine onto his stomach. A hand slipping into his back pocket had Gwaine squirming, but he could do nothing as Darg pulled out the soldier’s set of restraints and bound Gwaine’s arms behind him before awkwardly rolling him back over again.

  
“I can’t have you warning them, can I? Where would be the fun in that?” If it had been any other sorcerer, Gwaine would have been glaring at them in defiance, mocking them to do their worst as a way of biding time until Arthur arrived. But he knew what Darg was capable of, knew that this was the one sorcerer who could potentially get close to the team in order to hurt them. His fears were slowly being confirmed as Darg pulled out a small knife and a piece of string. Dangling off this string, however, was a small crystal, causing Gwaine to jerk back in horror.

 

“Yes, I thought you might recognise it. Maybe I’ll finally get to see that house of yours, or wherever it is you all stay. I’ll be able to look your friends in the eye as I slowly kill them, and see the betrayal in their eyes as they think their friend is turning on them.”  
  


“They’ll know it is you, you won’t get away with this.” Gwaine bucked sharply, kicking his legs out and forcing Darg to back away from him slightly to avoid being kicked. Taking advantage of that fact, Gwaine managed to somehow climb to his feet, wobbling slightly as he did so but took a few steps back. His hands might be tied, but he wasn’t helpless.

  
“I’ve changed them since we last met, dear Gwaine. Only someone with magic will be able to see my true form. The rest of the world will just be seeing you. Now, hold still a moment.”

 

Holding still was the last thing that Gwaine did. He waited until Darg was approaching, then lashed out with his foot once more. He managed to drive it into Darg’s stomach, causing the man to be sent stumbling back, gasping. Taking the opening, Gwaine made a run for it. His shoulder collided fiercely with Darg and overbalanced the man, allowing the soldier to leap over him and make a dash for the open street again. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before at least Arthur arrived on the scene, maybe even some of the others. He wouldn’t have to go far, just far enough...

 

Once again though, his plan was stopped as Darg reached out. Gwaine was just in reach still, having being forced to doge past the same bins the sorcerer had been initially hiding behind, and Darg managed to grab hold of his ankle. Without his hands to balance himself, Gwaine fell hard, landing on the floor with a thud and a groan. That same groan swiftly turned into a shout of alarm as he felt a crushing weight keeping him down on the ground. At first, Gwaine thought their anti-magic tonics had failed, that the sorcerer was using his power on him. But then he realised that Darg was simply using his own weight to keep Gwaine down, a foot in the middle of his back causing his struggles to be less than effective.

 

“No!”

 

“Oh yes.” Gwaine fought back furiously as he felt the cold edge of the blade being pressed against his skin. Why hadn’t he listened to Arthur when the man had warned him not to do anything rash, and for heaven’s sakes for none of them to let Darg draw blood? His own hatred for the man had lead him straight into the trap, and he knew that Darg would take great delight in using him against his own team. The sorcerer had had dealings with them before, after all, even if how he had escaped was still a mystery.  
  
It wasn’t Darg’s escape that Gwaine could think about now, but his own. He could feel the hot trickle of blood running down his arm and the weight keeping him pinned slowly drawing back slightly. Despite his best efforts to get away, Gwaine could do nothing as he felt the crystal being held against the cut. By craning his head around awkwardly, he was able to watch his own blood soak the gem, and Darg’s face light up into one of delight.

  
“Thanks, Gwaine.” The weight lessened considerably as Darg stepped back, slipping the string over his neck. The air around him seemed to shimmer for a moment, and Gwaine dropped his head back with a groan when he realised that he was looking at himself. Everything, even the cut on his arm, was exactly the same. It was true what Darg had said before, he had worked on the crystals. Even Gwaine couldn’t see the difference.

  
“Knight 3!” Arthur’s yell sounded before the arrival of its owner, and Gwaine made to shout something back in response. A hand clamped over his mouth even as the bindings around his wrists were cut away.

  
“Now the fun begins.”

  
Determined to make use of his hands, Gwaine bucked up sharply whilst biting down on the hand covering his mouth. He only had time to crane his neck up in order to see Arthur appearing at the end of the alleyway, gun in hand, before he felt something strike him in the back of his neck. As his head thumped back down to the floor and his vision swam somewhat alarmingly, he realised he had just been struck with the butt of his own gun.

  
“I got him, Sir.” It was unnerving hearing his own voice and yet knowing that it was coming from his enemy. Gwaine couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak or make any sound that would give Arthur some help. But he did manage to cling to consciousness enough to be relieved when his commander didn’t lower his gun in the slightest. Running footsteps made themselves known to Gwaine’s fuzzy hearing, and his darkening vision showed him Elyan and Lancelot running onto the scene, the former swearing whilst the latter pulled out some sort of device. Lancelot fiddled for a long moment, before glancing helplessly at Arthur.

  
“I can’t tell. Whatever Darg has done, it means the crystals can’t be detected this way. I have no idea which is which.”  
  
“Fine.” Gwaine had always thought that Arthur could be a little detached about how he dealt with his men when things went against their odds. But right now, he couldn’t be more thankful as Arthur’s gun simply lifted again. The weight holding him down on the floor vanished as the first bullet knocked Darg out. Gwaine didn’t have time to try and pull his strength together in order to say anything before he felt the sting of the second dart hit him in the neck as his commander fired again. The darkness rushed up to meet him, but not before he heard Leon arrive on the scene.  
  
“What do we do now, if we can’t tell them apart? My machinery is getting nothing, they are both giving me the same readings.”  
  
“If technology doesn’t do it,” Elyan was saying softly even as Gwaine struggled to fight against the sedative in order to hear what his friends had planned. “Then would magic?”  
  
“You mean..?”  
  
“Merlin.” Arthur said firmly, and Gwaine almost smiled. Darg himself had told him that only magic could tell them apart now. What the sorcerer didn’t know was that, unlike last time, the unit had magic at their disposal. Believing that he would be safe after all, Gwaine gave in and let the blackness claim he. He didn’t hear the others argue over the fact they would have to get the cuffs off their warlock first, or Leon call for Percival as Elyan, Lancelot and Arthur all moved forward to move the two men.

 

In fact, Gwaine knew nothing at all apart from the effectiveness of their own sedatives.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making amends.

Merlin knew that he had to somehow make up for his behaviour towards Gwen. Admittedly, he thought he had been treating her quite fairly considering he believed the guy he had been sleeping with for the last week or so was actually still in love with her. Somehow, that hadn’t been Arthur’s fault in Merlin’s mind, but Gwen’s. He was finding it harder and harder to blame Arthur for anything since they had been together, and the fact that the commander had come to his rescue once again at the flats meant that Merlin knew he was screwed. He had fallen for the blond, despite the fact that he should hate him on principal for what Arthur stood for.

 

But now that he was thinking about it, slumped down on the sofa, Merlin wasn’t sure what Arthur did stand for. He wasn’t even sure if the commander knew himself. When the man had first cornered him outside of Albion, attempting to restrain his magic, Merlin had thought he knew. He had been told to hide from people like that for his whole life, and anyone with magic had heard of the Round Table, even if they weren’t part of the Resistance. Admittedly he hadn’t realised quite who Arthur was until he had been told in the cells, but even then, it had been easy. Arthur hated magic and was determined to push it out of society altogether.

 

It made sense, it was simple and easy to accept even if he didn’t like it. If anything, it made it easier, it meant that Merlin could tell himself that he hated the commander, force his mind into thinking something it didn’t believe. But then the rescue had come. They had saved his life and got him away from there, and despite the initial discomfort and awkwardness that had come about with Merlin being in first the flat, then Arthur’s bed, they had then allowed him to use magic. In fact, he had used it to save Arthur’s life, something that no one could twist to say that he was evil. Then they had let him lose with his magic, allowing him into their everyday lives with something that –Merlin assumed - they hated.

 

Then they had saved him again. They could have let him go when he had run, it would have solved all their problems. If he had been caught, he wouldn’t have let on how he had got out or where he had been hiding for all of this time. Surely no one would suspect he had been with the team, especially not as Uther himself had turned up there and found nothing amiss. Of course, that plan had been slightly changed when his magic had taken on a life of its own and decided to avenge Will’s death, even without Merlin’s say so.

 

Thinking about how out of control he had been made the warlock shudder and automatically glance down to where his hands were cuffed together. The power of the cuffs was so strong that even just one of them around his wrist was enough to hold his power at bay. He had agreed for Arthur to try it once the commander had realised Merlin had no intention of letting anyone take them off, and even though he had felt his power bubbling to the surface, it had still been held in check. Merlin didn’t like it, he wasn’t sure whether it would have been enough, but it served its purpose when it came to getting changed and everyday things like that. He wasn’t sure if it was hurting the team that he was so afraid of – they had been battling sorcerers for apparently quite some time, surely they had been on the receiving end of magic more than once? This time, Merlin knew he was being selfish. He didn’t want to hurt them simply because he didn’t want the principles that he had always governed his magic by to be false. He had sworn to Arthur that he didn’t use his magic to hurt people, and Merlin was determined to stand by that, even if his magic had ideas of its own.

 

“Merlin? Are you okay?” Gwen sounded tentative, almost nervous as Merlin looked up, and the warlock couldn’t blame her. He had been nothing short of rude to her ever since she had been back in the flat, his grief and upset over Arthur meaning that he hadn’t been able to find it in himself to be courteous. Gwen hadn’t seemed to mind, which now just made Merlin feel even worse.

 

“I’m fine.” He attempted a smile at her as Gwen perched on the edge of the chair, watching him closely.

  
“I was going to make some lemonade for when the boys get back, I know how much Lance and Elyan love it...”  
  
“What about Arthur?” Merlin blurted out, causing Gwen to blink in surprise. She clearly had not expected him to bring Arthur up into the conversation.

  
“What about him?”  
  
“Does he like it?” In a way, Merlin was curious. He knew very little about Arthur other than what he had been able to find in the bedroom. The flat belonged to the men as a team, and whilst there were a few objects scattered around that had defining characteristics making it easy for him to tell who they belonged to, it had been very hard to piece together their unique personalities. He had been sleeping with the commander for over a week, and didn’t even know if the man liked lemonade or not. Gwen looked more than shocked by the question, her brow crumpling into a small frown as she clearly thought.

 

“I don’t know.” She eventually admitted, and in a way, it made Merlin smile. He fought to keep it from showing though.

 

“You went out with him.”

  
“And you are shagging him right now. Well, not now _now,_ but now... you please say you know what I mean?” This time, Merlin couldn’t hide it and he burst out laughing. Gwen knew no more about Arthur than Merlin did, despite the fact that they had obviously been together for a lot longer than a week. Arthur had seemed to imply that he hadn’t felt like he had truly belonged with Gwen, that was why he had been able to give her up to Lancelot. Considering how long she had known the man, but how little she truly knew about him, Merlin was beginning to see where he was coming from.

  
“I’m sorry that I’ve been... well, such a brat.” Merlin admitted quietly, studying his hands rather than looking up at her. If his mother knew how he had been behaving, towards a sweet natured girl no less, she would have been furious with him. Thinking about his mother made him suck in an almost panicked breath, wondering if this _Kanen_ he had heard Arthur talking about would have been able track down her too....

 

“Lance was telling me all about you when we left here, even before I had met you. You’ve made quite an impression on him apparently, and trust me when I say that takes a lot. I knew you weren’t behaving as yourself from what I had been told, but you had just lost your best friend, no one would have expected any different.”

 

If anything, Gwen’s kindness just made the situation even more embarrassing.

  
“Will isn’t the reason that I’ve been so rude to you.”

  
“Arthur?” Merlin nodded, knowing that he was blushing but not being able to do anything about it.

  
“Do you love him?” Somehow, Gwen’s soft voice asking the question made it so different to when Lancelot had asked within Merlin’s first few days in the flat. Swallowing hard, Merlin forced himself to look up at her.

 

“I don’t _not..._ ” Merlin whispered, and Gwen squeezed his hand sympathetically. Merlin couldn’t honestly say that he was in love, but there was something about Arthur that made his head spin and his stomach feel like they had butterflies.

 

“So that is why is you wouldn’t talk to me?”  
  
“I overheard you talking. I heard him saying that he would never have without anyone else what he had with you. Then you could say I didn’t stick around to hear the ending.”  
  


“Oh, Merlin, you silly goose.” Gwen rose fluidly to her feet after giving his hand another squeeze and beginning to head towards the kitchen. Merlin hastily swallowed, trying to force the colour to leave his cheeks slightly and not leave him blushing like a fucking school boy.

 

“I’m assuming he told you that the end of the conversation was him informing you that he was over me?” Merlin nodded, then realised she could no longer see him and made some rough noise of confirmation. Not wanting to just stay sitting here on his own – it was one thing when he was the only one in the flat, but something else entirely when there was someone there to talk to – Merlin made his way through to the kitchen after her.

  
“Can you forgive me?”

  
“There is nothing to forgive. You’ve been good for him. I have to admit, I was worried, he needed to find someone. And you clearly don’t take anything he says just because he is the one who says it, meaning that you are good for him. He needs someone to disobey his orders occasionally. Now,  how about you help me?”

 

“I’m not sure what I can do.” Merlin gestured to his bound hands, wondering how she would take it. But Gwen simply tutted, making Merlin realise that she was fully aware he was only restrained because he was too stubborn to let anyone take them off him.

  
“That is your own fault for being so silly, not mine. I’ll find something for you to do...Oh, I know, you can squeeze the lemons, it’s easier with two hands anyway.”

 

Considering he had been more than prepared to hate Gwen on principal just because he had believed that Arthur was still in love with her, Merlin surprised himself by how much he actually liked the girl. She was sharp and clever, leaving no mystery whatsoever about why she managed to fit in with the men so well. Her army upbringing was more than apparent whenever their conversation drifted to what swiftly became known as “their boys”, yet she clearly hadn’t let it dominant her the way it had for some of the others. There were times when Merlin could more than tell she was Elyan’s sister, she had some of the same mannerisms, but she was also her own person. All in all, Merlin found that his laughs were coming swiftly and easily, and there was a smile on his face as they explored the kitchen.

 

Not to mention anyone that could get through to Gwaine when Arthur could not was clearly someone to be ever so slightly afraid of.

 

MMM

 

The lemonade had been made and half drunk, cakes were baking in the oven and Merlin found himself sprawled across the sofa. Gwen was sitting on the floor just in front of him – through her own choice – flicking through a magazine with Merlin reading over her shoulder. Once the teenager had been able to swallow his pride and actually apologise, the two had swiftly become friends. They were both outsiders to the unit, yet both had enough links that it wasn’t like they were strangers. Plus had many tales to switch – Merlin was curious about how her and Lancelot had first got together considering that Arthur was still in the equation at the time, and Gwen had been just as interested in Merlin’s first meeting with the commander. When he admitted that they hadn’t actually met the day Merlin became their target, but when Arthur had taken him home months before, he had honestly thought that her jaw would have hit the floor.

 

But suddenly, Merlin found himself sitting upright, frowning. Gwen was still chatting happily on about whatever picture they had previously been laughing about, but it wasn’t that Merlin was hearing. In actual fact, he wasn’t completely sure whether he was hearing anything at all, or just feeling the way that his magic was beginning to tingle behind the block that had been placed on it. For the first few hours when he had been brought back here, that was all he had been able to feel, the magic striving to be set lose. But as he had come to terms with what had happened, it had begun to calm down slightly. Somehow, this didn’t feel like it was struggling to be set free once more, but more that he was trying to warn him about something.

 

“Shh.” For the first time since he had met her, Merlin was not fully thankful for the fact that Gwen had been raised in the barracks. Her mouth immediately snapped shut, as did the magazine, as the woman climbed to her feet. With a controlled slowness, she placed the magazine down to one side and almost casually walked across the room. It came as no surprise that she knew where her brother stored the team’s weapons (even Merlin knew that by now), but it did come as slight shock when she took hold of one gun, checked it, then held it out to Merlin.

  
“You’re sensing something with your magic, aren’t you? Lancelot told me enough about how powerful you are, even restrained it is going to be reacting. Take this and hide in the bedroom. If I need help, I’ll call you, if not, stay out of sight. Merlin! Do as I say!”

 

Numbly, Merlin took the gun and walked into the bedroom. Feeling her gaze on him, he made the point of shutting the door, but stopped short of actually pushing the wood into the gap. He wasn’t going to wait until Gwen called if something was happening, images of Will’s mutilated body swimming before his mind’s eye once again and causing his stomach to want to rebel against the amount of lemonade they had consumed. Instead, he left the door open a crack, pushed the gun through that gap and balanced himself, waiting. It felt wrong to have a weapon in his hand; it was not something that he had ever needed before. Up until now, even if he hadn’t understood precisely what it was that made his magic react, he knew enough to know that it would protect him. Yet right now, he couldn’t trust his magic to look out for either himself or Gwen. After misunderstanding the situation so much, he felt like he owed it to both Arthur and Lancelot to keep Gwen safe.

 

His magic hadn’t been lying to him. Footsteps could definitely be heard coming to a stop outside of the door, and Gwen’s head turned back towards the bedroom door for a split second. She clearly saw that Merlin hadn’t shut it properly, but rather than saying anything, she simply swallowed hard. Merlin tried to give her a reassuring nod, but knew the fear he could see in her eyes was also reflected in his.

 

Someone knocked sharply on the door, banging on it even as a scrape of a key could be heard. Merlin saw the way Gwen partly relaxed – it could only be one of the team if they had a key, but what could be so urgent that they couldn’t keep calm enough to get it in the lock? She made to take a step forward.

 

“Don’t.” Merlin had no idea when he moved from the bedroom to taking hold of her wrist, but somehow he did.

  
“But... it’s the boys....”

 

“Not necessarily.” Merlin’s voice was low and quiet sounding as his eyes narrowed, focusing on the door intently. He wouldn’t be able to fire properly even if it came to it, not with his hands tied, but at least he could make an attempt at protecting Gwen. “You know who they were going after, the way he could take the shape of anyone he wanted?”

 

Gwen paled, but neither of them had the chance to say anything else as the door suddenly burst open. For a moment, Merlin raised his gun.

 

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, Merlin, come on, we need you.” There was no denying that it was Arthur striding into the flat, but Merlin didn’t put the weapon down.

  
“Stop.” He said lowly, sounding almost dangerous. It must have come as a surprise as much to Arthur as it did Merlin himself, for the commander suddenly blinked, glancing between the two of them. A small smile crossed his face as he turned back towards the door.

  
“Elyan, get in here. You know about the crystals, Merlin, you know that he could only take on the form of one of us. Would there be two here if we knew one was impersonated, would we have brought them home?”

 

The words got through to the warlock and Merlin found that his hand trembled slightly as he brought the gun down. He couldn’t bring himself to let go of it altogether though, even when Arthur closed the distance between them. The commander’s larger hands took Merlin’s in his own, gently drawing the gun away from him and tossing it to Elyan in one swift, practiced movement.

 

“It’s me, I swear.” The warlock swallowed hard, looking up into Arthur’s eyes as he realised that the commander had his hands resting over the cuffs. It was something that he had been doing more and more of late as he realised that Merlin was not going to allow them to be taken off. The action was so familiar that Merlin found himself nodding, smiling slightly as he truly believed it was the commander looking back at him and not some imposter.

  
“Now come on, we need your help.” It was only then Merlin realised that it hadn’t been both of Arthur’s hands closed over his ever since he had taken the gun. It had just been one, and the other had been steadily reaching into Arthur’s pocket. As Merlin’s gaze flickered to it, he realised the blond had the key to the cuffs in his hand and was beginning to draw Merlin’s hands towards him.

  
“No way.” Yanking himself backwards, Merlin snatched his hands from Arthur’s grasp and took a step away. Out of all of the men, the commander had been the only one to not push Merlin into taking them off, muttering something about him having to be ready or it would all be in vain. Hence why now, Merlin was staring at him.

  
“No time, Merlin, we need you. We need your magic.”

  
“No way, Arthur. You know what will happen if you take them off, you’re not doing it.” As Arthur took a step forward, Merlin took another one away, vaguely aware that Elyan had gone to Gwen and was clearly trying to make sure that his sister was okay whilst the two men bickered.

 

“Merlin, please, Gwaine needs your help. You were right to be on your guard thinking that Darg could have impersonated one of us, he has. He’s got Gwaine, and we can’t tell them apart.”  
  
“Isn’t that what Lancelot and his technology is for?” Merlin muttered, glancing at Gwen as he did so whilst thinking about all that she had been able to tell him about the team. Arthur shook his head.

  
“It’s no good, nothing can tell them apart. Nothing apart from magic.”  
  


“I’m sorry, Arthur, I can’t, you know that I can’t.”  
  
“What if we get it wrong, Merlin? Gwaine is responsible for saving your life, you know. Will you repay him by letting him suffer in case we get it wrong? What about the rest of the team, what if we think we have the real Gwaine and actually we’ve got it wrong? He would kill us all slowly in our sleep, and he would know about you.”  
  
Merlin took yet another step back, but then realised that he was cornering himself and instead wildly opted for shaking his head. Arthur came closer, crowding his space and wrapping his arms around Merlin from behind, effectively pinning him still.

  
“You can do this, love. You’re the only one who can save us.” The term was so casually said, almost as if Arthur wasn’t consciously thinking about it, that Merlin found himself freezing. Very slowly, he let the tension relax out of his body and sagged back against Arthur.

  
“I can’t, I’ll hurt someone.”

 

“Without you, someone _will_ get hurt. Gwaine might possibly die if you don’t do this, Merlin. I’ll be with you every step of the way, I swear. I won’t let you hurt anyone...”

  
“What if I hurt you?” Merlin whispered, resting his head back on Arthur’s shoulder and craning his head around in order to look at the man. Arthur smirked, kissing his ear.

  
“As if you could. Will you do it?” Absolutely terrified, Merlin slowly nodded. He tensed in Arthur’s arms once again as he felt Arthur take hold of his hand. The man’s breath against his neck as the key was inserted was a grounding force, something that stopped him from letting his fright simply get the better of him. He felt the key go in, felt it begin to turn.... Swallowing hard, he heard the lock catch and Arthur slowly draw the cuffs off.  
  


Instantly, Merlin felt his magic rush to the surface, the freedom it had been denied now being sought even more desperately than before. Merlin couldn’t help but let a slightly panicked gasp escape him, turning in Arthur’s arms as he felt the power accumulate behind his eyes, knowing they were beginning to turn gold. But then he felt the magic disappear and settle down contently as Arthur simply pressed his lips against the warlock’s.

  
“Come on, you idiot.” He muttered fondly, taking Merlin’s hand, nodding at Gwen and beginning to lead him from the flat. Somehow, it came as something of a reassurance when Merlin saw Arthur slip the restraints into his back pocket once again. Neither of them said anything as Arthur led the way downstairs, even when Merlin’s grip on his hand must have bordered on painful. Rather than the back route that Merlin had taken both times before, he was instead led down another set of stairs, into what must be an underground car park.

 

His thoughts were confirmed when the vehicles were revealed, but he found that his eyes were drawn by the white van even as Arthur started to pull him towards it. He could make out Percival standing just by the doors as they approached, but the man said nothing other than nodding towards Arthur and pulling open the door. The commander let go of Merlin’s hand in order to jump in, but the warlock found himself hesitating. He knew that he had been in this van at least three times now, none of which he had been conscious for.

  
“Merlin, we don’t have much time.” There was an underlying note of urgency in Arthur’s voice that Merlin wasn’t sure he had ever heard before, so pushing aside his own fear, he climbed in after Arthur, smiling his thanks as Lancelot reached out to give him a hand. Percival almost immediately slammed the door shut after them, and Merlin swallowed hard at hearing it being locked. But then Arthur’s hand was back in his.

 

“Merlin? Can you tell which is which?” He motioned over to the other side of the van, and Merlin blinked. The first man he saw was Gwaine, his hands tied behind his back and clearly unconscious. But the second man, whilst also out cold and similarly restrained, was someone completely different. He had a large waist line and a receding hair line for one thing.

  
“Merlin?”

  
“You can’t tell them apart?” Merlin asked slowly, beginning to smile. He had no idea that the rest of the team were looking at two identical men, not even the smallest clue being offered as to which was which. Merlin, however, was seeing straight through the magic, and as Leon shook his head, Merlin stepped forward. The warlock reached down and with one hand, snapped the cord around the imposter’s neck, pulling away a crystal as he did so. He refused to acknowledge the blood on it, knowing from what he had overheard the men talk about before that it must be Gwaine’s blood in order for the crystals to work. He might have been able to see through the magic, but even Merlin could see the way the air shimmered around the unconscious man. As the remaining members of the team took in a collective gasp, Merlin knew the magic had been revealed and they too could now tell which was which.

  
Taking a step backwards, Merlin refused to let his eyes drift towards the cage in the corner, knowing what it was used for. Leon moved forward and swiftly freed Gwaine from his bindings.

  
“Get him upstairs.” Arthur ordered, and both Leon and Lancelot jumped to do his bidding. One knock on the door caused Percival to open it once again. There was a hurried conversation that Merlin missed most of as he tried to get the feeling of his magic again, but then he was suddenly left in a van with just Arthur and the unconscious sorcerer.

  
“Thank you. Gwaine wouldn’t have made it without you.”  
  
“It’s not Gwaine I did it for.” Merlin responded softly, plucking up the courage to look Arthur in the eye as he spoke. Unbidden, his conversation with Gwen floated back into his mind and he couldn’t help but blush again. Did he love Arthur?

 

Arthur smiled, his whole face lighting up as he did so and took a step forward. This time, there was nothing threatening whatsoever about the commander crowding his space, and Merlin found his hand lifting. He was aiming for Arthur’s face, intending to let his hand cup it, but a movement from behind the commander made him freeze. Without saying anything, Merlin grabbed Arthur around the waist and pulled him closer, crashing their lips together.

 

As he did so, his hand rose again, only this time, behind Arthur’s back. Darg had somehow regained consciousness in that time, loathing in his eyes as he looked towards Arthur. But what had Merlin more concerned was the long knife he was pulling out of a pocket. These crystals were clearly powerful if they had disguised the weapon as well, and whilst he made a mental note to ask Arthur about it later, or even study them if he could, Merlin twisted his hand so that his palm was pointing at the man. Darg seemed to realise that magic was about to be used, that his disguise was broken for he suddenly leapt forward with a curse.

 

Arthur partly turned as he heard the word, eyes widening in astonishment as his hand moved from Merlin’s hip towards his own, clearly going for his gun. But before he could even think of reaching it, a beam of light shot from Merlin’s hand. It hit Darg square in the forehead and the large man collapsed with nothing more than a stunned look on his face. Pulling out of Merlin’s grip, Arthur let his fingers rest against the man’s neck for a moment.

 

“Did I..?” Feeling sick, Merlin wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to know the answer to his unasked question. He wasn’t sure how he would feel if his magic had just been used to kill someone, even if it was in self defence.

  
“Just out cold.” Arthur said with a smile, coming back towards the teenager again. “See, your magic isn’t something bad.”

  
Merlin just let out something that could resemble a squeak as the palms of Arthur’s hands pressed against the van behind him, effectively trapping him in. It was the exact same way that he had cornered Merlin outside the club, something that suddenly seemed a lot longer than a couple of weeks ago. He swallowed hard, his eyes flicking to Arthur’s lips then back again.

  
“Tell me, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur drawled, leaning in closer. “Have you ever been fucked in the back of a van before?"

  
Merlin’s response was to simply let his own lips find Arthur’s again, deciding that answered the question well enough.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping.

Arthur had no choice but to support Merlin from the van. The teenager’s legs seemed to have stopped working, his wide-eyed appearance making him look like a startled rabbit as he just made some sort of noise of consent when Arthur asked him was he okay. Unable to stop the smirk from spreading, knowing that he was the one to put Merlin in such a state, Arthur had just wrapped his arm around the slighter man’s waist and all but pulled him out. Luckily, although Percival was waiting to take the van to the cells, he said nothing about the way that Merlin’s hand seemed to be giving into gravity and drifting below Arthur’s hip, and the way that Arthur’s tussled hair and flushed face made him look no better than the man he was trying to support. Instead, he had just given his commander a nod, smiled at Merlin and moved around to the front of the van, roaring out of the car park with nothing more than a squeal of tyres. Arthur had tried to act disapprovingly at his man’s driving, but Merlin’s groping hand had made frowning for any length of time exceedingly difficult.

  
How on earth they made it up the stairs, Arthur would never know. It was certainly no thanks to Merlin, who kept almost toppling over and dragging them both down, and then managing to find the whole thing hilariously funny. It was almost like he was drunk, and Arthur wouldn’t be surprised if the sensation felt the same. Merlin’s magic seemed to certainly enjoy being free, and Arthur was hard pressed to stop himself shuddering in pleasure as images swam in his mind’s eye about precisely what Merlin had been doing with it. Once the adrenaline of knocking Darg out faded though, Arthur knew they would have to be more careful. It was as if the anger and frustration was brimming just below the surface, waiting for something to give it an excuse to lash out. Right now, the commander didn’t care. Merlin’s giggles were something close to infectious and he found that he had a wide smile on his face by the time they reached the flat. They would cross the magical bridge when they came to it. Making the point of yanking Merlin’s hand out of the top of his jeans, Arthur put his key in the lock and dragged them into the flat.

 

It was like someone had thrown a cold bucket of water over him the second he turned to face the scene within. Judging by Merlin’s sharp intake of breath, it was the same for the warlock. All the way up the stairs, Merlin’s magic had been playful, making it feel like Arthur had many hands all over him. But as soon as he opened the door, he practically felt the change in the younger man, felt the way Merlin tensed and the air seemed to crackle slightly. Despite their fumbling of clothes in the van, he could still feel the comforting weight of the restraints in his back pocket, just in case. Yet Arthur was reluctant, he had felt how happy Merlin’s magic was to be free. Determined not to use them, he reached over and clasped Merlin’s hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  
“How is he?” He asked softly, pulling Merlin into the flat properly and shutting and locking the door. The commander needed the sense of safety that a locked door offered. He let go of Merlin’s hand, but stayed close. The last thing they needed now was a magical outburst. Gwaine was still unconscious, the men having laid him out across the sofa. One of them had removed his shirt and the bruising was already more than obvious, angry splashes of colour contrasting against even Gwaine’s tanned skin. Angry red welts encircled his wrist and Arthur glared.

  
“Who restrained them?”  
  
“Those marks weren’t caused by us, Sir.” Lancelot muttered, holding Gwaine’s arm out to the side whilst Elyan bandaged it carefully. He seemed to know what was going through Arthur’s mind and was quick to defuse the situation before accusations started to unfairly fly. None of them were in the mood to deal with that now. With Percival dropping Darg off at the cells, it fell to another of the men to act as paramedic for the time being. They had all received the training, yet Percival just seemed to be more of a natural. “This bruising is too far progressed here around his wrists, it was done before. And Gwaine must have struggled for it to cause marks like this. Darg was the one who did this, not us.”  
  
“ _Fuck.”_ Not really knowing what else to say, Arthur sank into the chair and ran his hand through his sweaty hair. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he watched his men try and patch up their comrade as best as they could.

 

“You never answered the question, how is he?”

 

“He’ll be fine, Arthur.” Gwen’s voice was quiet and soft, yet seemed to hold far more reassurance than Lancelot’s terse comment before. This was too personal for the men to say it in such a calming way. Merlin swallowed, automatically moving closer to Arthur and perching on the arm of the chair. He had seen what they had been like when Arthur had been sick, he knew how protective they were of each other. Despite squabbling like children, the men truly cared for each other and to see one of them like this...

 

“Why on earth did he try and take Darg alone? His gun was completely empty, he obviously fired off the whole lot.” Leon muttered, glancing at Gwaine as if the man was suddenly going to be dancing around the flat in the time it had taken Leon to blink. Arthur looked up, his face lined with worry. Without even thinking what he was doing, Merlin found that his hand was combing softly through Arthur’s hair, trying to get him to relax again.

  
“Did we retrieve all the bullets?” The commander asked, his voice terse and strict. Despite the fact that he was clearly in his role as their commander, Merlin still had to smile at the way Arthur was beginning to lean against him more.

   
“Yes, Prince.” Elyan responded, not looking up from where he was finishing tying off the bandage. Gwen lent a hand without seeming to think about it, and the two siblings silently drew a blanket up over Gwaine when they had finished. The room as one seemed to let out a collective breath at that. With the injuries and bruising hidden, he could almost be sleeping.

  
“The cleanup operation went fine, Arthur.” Leon seemed to see the concern in Arthur’s face that something had been left behind in order to incriminate them. Most of the army didn’t know what it was they did, there was no way that they would be able to fend off a police investigation without calling in higher authority, something that would arouse more suspicion. In order to make it easier for everyone, they had to make sure they did their job properly.

 

“I’m going to get cleaned up.” Ducking his head away from Merlin’s hand, Arthur disappeared and swiftly made his way into the bedroom. The whole team seemed to just watch him go with baited breath, only remembering to work their lungs again when the bedroom door snaps shut.

  
“Thank you, Merlin.” Elyan suddenly muttered quietly, looking from the door to Merlin. The warlock jumped, staring at him in surprise. He had slipped off the sofa onto the floor now that his work was done, Gwen coming to stand next to him. She was holding Lancelot’s hand in one of her own and had the other resting against the back of Elyan’s neck. Judging by the way it looked like he hadn’t noticed that he was leaning into it, it was a touch often used between the two siblings. It was her way of grounding and comforting him, and Merlin suddenly realised who he was looking at. It wasn’t just an ex-girlfriend of Arthur’s who had found herself in the arms of another member of the team, it was someone who knew how to stop them all from falling apart when one of their own was hurt.

  
“What did I do?”  
  


“You saved his life. This was possibly Gwaine’s worst nightmare, knowing that Darg would have used him in order to get to us. Don’t underestimate what you did today.”  
  
“But that’s just it.” Whilst it was nice to have his magic back again, there was no way that Merlin was about to let Elyan praise him. After all, it wasn’t like he had actually done anything. Just because the power that flowed in his blood meant that he had been able to see through the disguise didn’t mean he deserved their gratitude.

 

“I didn’t do anything. It was as if the crystals didn’t work on me, I didn’t even have to use magic in order to be able to tell the difference.”

  
“You didn’t have to do anything?” Merlin wasn’t sure whether he should have been worried by the fact that Leon sounded surprised. He simply shook his head in response, finding that his eyes were drifting to the closed bedroom door. He knew how anxious Arthur had been about letting Gwaine out in the mission anyway, and then for this to happen...  
  
“You should go to him.” Merlin hadn’t realised that Leon was watching him with the same look in his eyes that Merlin was watching the door with. “We’ll wait for Percy, we’ll let you know what happens at the cells if you want to hear later. But right now, he is going to be blaming himself. We’ve told you before that no one can get in when he is in one of these moods. You did it before. For us, for Gwaine...for _Arthur_ , will you try and get in?” Merlin sighed, but found that he was nodding.

  
“If you hear a loud bang, send a rescue party.” He muttered drily, not being sure whether he was thinking that he would throw Arthur into something or the commander would shoot him first. Feeling almost nervous, he slipped quickly across the room, feeling the back of his neck burn as the eyes of the rest of the team were on him. The last time he had gone to sort Arthur out when he was in a temper, they had ended up fucking and sending their feelings on a whirlwind rollercoaster.

 

But all was quiet in the bedroom, and Merlin followed the sound of running water to find himself in the bathroom. The room was so steamed up that Arthur could have no idea that he was there as he slipped silently in. Not saying a word, Merlin stripped and opened the shower door. The temperature hit him like a blow to the gut, but he didn’t say anything.

  
“Shh...” He whispered as Arthur made to open his mouth, probably more to query what Merlin was doing than anything. Letting his hands lather up with the soap, he turned Arthur around and softly let his hands run up and down the commander’s back, massaging gently as he went and trying to get some of the tension to leave the man’s shoulders. Every time Arthur opened his mouth, Merlin hushed him again, either with words or a kiss as he continued to gently wash the man.

 

Finally, the tension seemed to drain out of Arthur and his knees almost gave way. Merlin quickly wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist, both supporting and simply holding him as he lowered them both to the floor. It took some awkward co-ordination, but eventually, they could sit side by side on the shower floor, the water still streaming down on them. Arthur reached over and brushed a sodden lock of hair out of Merlin’s eyes even as the warlock leant his head on the commander’s shoulder.

 

“He would have died if it wasn’t for you. If you hadn’t have been there...”

  
“But I was there, Arthur.” Merlin whispered, kissing the man’s shoulder before returning his head to its previous position. “You were the one who saved him really.”  
  
“I didn’t do anything.”

  
“You persuaded me to take the cuffs off.” Merlin simply rolled his eyes as Arthur immediately protested, claiming that it was Merlin who had saved Gwaine’s life. For a man who seemed far from modest, Arthur wasn’t very good at taking the praise when it was directed at him.  Waiting until Arthur had finally stopped arguing that Merlin had it all the wrong way around, the warlock continued.

  
“I didn’t do...”

  
“I mean it.” Merlin interrupted firmly, giving Arthur a poke to make sure that he was actually going to keep his mouth shut his time. “I don’t think there has been anyone else I have ever trusted enough in order to do that. I’ve trusted people with my life before, but in that moment, I trusted you with my magic, Arthur.”

 

“It’s part of you, you can’t hide it away.” Arthur murmured in response, letting his cheek rest against the top of Merlin’s head.

 

“Well...” Merlin didn’t quite know what to say to that. In his mind, he had wished more times than he could count that his magic wasn’t part of him. If he didn’t have it, Will might have still been alive...  
  
“It’s not your fault, love.” Arthur’s hand was suddenly squeezing his reassuringly, and Merlin blinked in surprise. His magic was beginning to grow angry again as soon as he started thinking about Will, and Arthur had somehow picked up on that. He had sensed the change enough to be able to calm Merlin back down again. Twisting his head slightly, Merlin shot him a look. That was precisely what he meant, he completely trusted Arthur to keep his magic in check far more than any cuffs could ever do.

 

“I know, I just...” Not liking the way the conversation was being directed back on him when he was supposed to be sorting out Arthur’s guilt complex, Merlin decided to go for a slight diversion tactic and instead began nuzzling into the man’s soapy neck.

 

“So no more handcuffs, okay?” Smirking against Arthur’s neck, Merlin moved until he was right by Arthur’s ear.  
  
“I might have a different purpose in mind for them now.” He whispered, biting down gently on Arthur’s ear lobe and feeling the man try and hide his shudder in response. Yet Arthur didn’t seem to have a come back there, instead just twisting his head around in order to kiss Merlin properly.

 

If they happened to have needed another shower before they even got out of the first properly, well then...no one said anything about it after the pair finally stumbled out of the bedroom hours later. None of the others seemed to believe that they had slept most of that time away. Then again, none of the others knew what had happened in the van...

 

MMM

 

Commander Arthur Pendragon was a man who kept a tight lid on his emotions. He always had done and thought that he always would have. So it meant that he was just as surprised as anyone when he had a small smile on his face upon waking up and finding a head resting comfortably on his chest, fingers linked through his own. Merlin was all but wrapped up in him, and Arthur’s grin widened as he realised that Merlin was awake, just pretending. Either that or his other hand had just accidentally landed somewhere south of Arthur’s waist. Firmly removing said hand, Arthur chuckled as Merlin huffed, but managed to work his way out from underneath the teen and head towards the bathroom.

 

Arthur showered, washed and dressed, only to reappear and find that Merlin had spread out, now taking up the entire bed and hugging the pillow almost the way he had been hugging Arthur. For a moment, Arthur felt his breath be stolen from him as he realised how familiar this sight now was. It had been another week or so since Darg’s attack, and no one had even thought about the fact that Merlin shouldn’t even be here anymore. His role in saving Gwaine’s life had changed something – he was no longer their prisoner, no longer their refugee whilst they found somewhere safe for him to go. It was as if he had worked his way properly into the team without any of them realising. Gwen had been coming and going ever since – now she knew about Merlin there was no point trying to keep her away, and the two had become fast friends. But she was still just Lancelot’s girlfriend. Merlin had become something so much more. His magic had been used to not only save one of their own, but help them complete their mission. It hadn’t only changed something in Arthur’s mind, he knew that his men were viewing the teenager differently as well. Merlin could be useful to them.

  
“Come on, up.” Nothing more than a grunt was the response Arthur received and he smirked. Moving across the room, he bent down and pressed his lips against the back of Merlin’s neck.

 

 “Get out of bed, Merlin.” He whispered, knowing full well that the younger man was awake. His suspicions were confirmed as Merlin rolled over, fast as lighting and grabbed the back of Arthur’s neck, pulling him down into a kiss. Arthur was more than happy to respond, until he felt one of Merlin’s hands tugging at the bottom of the top that he had only just put on. Batting him away with a fond laugh, Arthur stood up straight.

 

“Get up you lazy sod.”

  
“Teenager, remember?” Merlin grumbled, pouting that his fun had been ruined and rolling back over, sticking the pillow over his head and giving Arthur the finger when the commander tried once more to get him to get out of bed. How could he be in control of a highly disciplined army unit and yet couldn’t even control a mere teenager? Knowing it was a lost cause, Arthur left the room. Most of the men were up, apart from Gwaine. But just like every other day since the attack, no one wanted to force him. Arthur knew that they would have to do something about it soon, that they couldn’t let him continue like that. But as soon as they did so, it was potentially causing a whole lot more problems. Their lives were only just beginning to settle down after Merlin, no one seemed to want to mention Gwaine. It wasn’t that the man wasn’t coping, he seemed fine during the day, his usual annoying self. Yet the nightmares had yet to pass, and that was something that was concerning Arthur.

  
“Careful, Merlin will get jealous if you stare at him for too long.” Arthur jumped, not having heard Elyan move until the man slid a plate of toast and a coffee in front of him with a knowing grin. Taking a bite, Arthur smiled.

  
“You think?” For some reason, that thought made him feel ridiculously happy.

  
“Mate, you two can’t keep your hands off each other, I _know_. Where is he, anyway?”

  
“Still in bed.” Arthur said with a shrug, continuing to eat. He nodded a greeting at Percival as the man joined them, but then realised they were the only ones present. “Where are the other two?”

  
“Gone for a run. Gwaine had us all up at the crack of dawn, think those two are adrenaline pumped right now.”  
  
“You should have woken me.” Arthur protested. He liked the privacy of having his own room, something that could give him time to think and get away from it all. At the end of the day, he was responsible for these men, so when something happened to one of them, it hit him hard. Yet at the same time, the door did serve as a reminder as to the fact that he wasn’t just one of them, he was their commander, their leader. If it meant that he was missing out on what was happening with his men, then he hated it. It felt important to him that he knew all that was happening.

  
“And risk walking in on you and Merlin again? No thanks, once was bad enough.” Elyan still couldn’t fail to hide his blush when he thought back to when he had forgotten to take note of the shut door. “Still didn’t think I would ever see you on your knees, sir.”  
  
“Shut up,” Arthur gave him a mock shove, knowing that his face was burning. He had never moved so fast as he did in that moment.

  
“Where is the kid?” Not having heard the beginning of the conversation, Percival just grinned as Arthur rolled his eyes.

  
“Teenager, remember?” That was all Percival needed to know, and without another word, the giant of a man disappeared into the bedroom.

  
“What’s he doing?” Arthur muttered, feeling ever so slightly concerned. Merlin’s magic was still temperamental at the best of times, but Percival could get a shock if he thought that he would be able to get the boy out of bed.

  
“Not all of us are as soft with Merlin as you are.” Elyan responded with a laugh, which only increased as they heard an indignant squawk coming from the bedroom. Arthur wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what was happening or not, but found that he couldn’t help but laugh along with Elyan as Percival reappeared. He had managed to wrestle Merlin into one of Arthur’s t-shirts and a pair of jogging bottoms, and simply had the teenager swung up over his shoulder. It was as if he didn’t feel Merlin’s struggles – although Arthur knew they were only playful because magic wasn’t being used at all –until he dumped him into a chair in the kitchen. Merlin simply sat there and pouted up at them with big eyes that made Arthur’s smile turn into something softer. Elyan, on the other hand, simply chuckled and pushed across another mug of coffee. The change was almost instant as Merlin’s whole face lit up and he smiled, taking in a deep breath.

 

“I love you,” he mumbled, already taking a sip and trying to hide the way he winced as the heat hit him. “Arthur, we’re over, I’m marrying this man, he gives me coffee...”

 

Percival pushed across a plate of toast and Merlin almost groaned in pleasure.

  
“And this one too, he gives me food. You, mate,” he paused, glancing up at Arthur with a twinkle in his eye, “are officially history, you only give me amazing sex, not coffee or food.” Elyan spluttered around his own mouthful of coffee and Arthur smirked,

 

“Brat.”

  
“That’s why you love me.” Going back to his breakfast, Merlin didn’t seem to notice the change in atmosphere. Arthur went completely tense, his hands rigid and clenched tightly around his mug as he stared at Merlin. Elyan and Percival were glancing between their commander and the warlock, realising what it was that had Arthur reacting so much. Percival gave a knowing smile and went back to cooking more toast. The man was certainly finding a rival for his never ending appetite with having Merlin in the flat and seemed to have taken it almost as a personal challenge.

 

“What’s the agenda for today, Sir?” Elyan muttered, determined to try and get the conversation on a more familiar ground as Merlin carried on eating. Arthur watched him for another long moment before finally tearing his eyes away.

  
“Shopping.” Merlin’s splutter over his coffee was precisely the reaction Arthur had been hoping for.

  
“What?”

  
“I’m fed up of you wearing my clothes, so we are going shopping.” It was true, Merlin was nearly always dressed in something of Arthur’s. They thought the risk would be too great to go back to the warlock’s flat to try and salvage something. If anyone was watching, they would be led straight to Merlin. It was lucky they had avoided detection the first time they had been there and that had been an emergency. To go back for something so causal was just asking for trouble.

  
“Day off then?” Percival muttered, but there was a gleam in Arthur’s eye now.

  
“No, full circuit training this afternoon. Only we might have to take it easy...”  
  
“You know Gwaine won’t like that,” Elyan began, trading uncertain glances with Percival as they both looked towards their sleeping comrade. If there was one way to get Gwaine seriously annoyed, it was to make him feel like he was being treated differently after what had happened. Arthur, however, slowly shook his head. Gwaine was the last person on his mind right now.

  
“Oh no, you can go full steam ahead with Gwaine if you choose. But it’s about time we got our newest member of the team fit.” Merlin simply gaped at him for a long moment, almost as if he didn’t believe that Arthur was talking about him. When the commander softly nodded, his face split into a wide grin. This was Arthur’s way of saying that he could stay, that he was one of them now. Admittedly, it wouldn’t be as if Merlin could actually come on the missions for a very long time, but it was a step in the right direction.

  
“I’m perfectly fit, I thought I proved that last night.”  
  


“Your stamina is lacking though. And you have a tendency to collapse in an exhausted heap after you have done something to exert yourself.” Merlin stared as Elyan hastily covered up his laugh with a cough, whipping Arthur’s plate away as a way to distract himself.

  
“So go on then, go and get cleaned up. First we need to get you some clothes. Go and shower, meet me back here in ten minutes.” Merlin stood, sidling around Arthur and wrapping his arms around his waist.

  
“Come in with me?” He practically purred, and Arthur knew this was a way of him trying to get out of shopping.  
  
“Go.” He said firmly, and whilst Merlin huffed, he went. Arthur knew it wasn’t the going outside that had Merlin worried, he had been doing that for the last week. They had been cautious, a member of the team with him at all times and wired up back to the flat to report trouble the second they spotted anything. But they all seemed to have realised that if Merlin was going to stay, he couldn’t simply stay in the flat forever. Arthur ignored the flash of nerves he felt shooting through him – this was going to be the first time he took Merlin out on his own. Adamant that he wasn’t going to let it get to him, Arthur passed the time waiting for Merlin by talking through various training scenarios for the warlock. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who had been thinking about this, and Percival had actually given it a considerable amount of thought.

 

It meant that when Merlin finally arrived back in the room after almost double the amount of time Arthur had initially given him, the commander didn’t really notice. Thankfully, the warlock was dressed back in the one outfit that he had belonging to him, meaning that he hopefully wouldn’t stick out as much when they were out.

  
“Ready? Let’s go.” Ever the military man, Arthur practically marched to the door when Percival called him back. The man disappeared into the bedroom and returned all within a few seconds, not explaining what he was doing. It was Arthur’s quick reactions that meant he caught the flying bottle that was thrown at his head and nodded in thanks. It was his day again, the day where he defied Morgause by staying alive. Popping off the cap, he downed two, swallowing them drily before pocketing the bottle. Percival grinned and went back to whatever it was he was going to spend the morning doing as Arthur pulled Merlin out of the flat.

 

Only to have Merlin interlink his fingers with Arthur’s once more.

  
“Happy one month, darling...” He muttered teasingly. Sarcasm was dripping from every word, yet Arthur could hear that there was a quiet hope in his voice, an uncertain belief that these were the words he was supposed to be saying.

  
“What do you mean?”

 

“I used magic and saved your life a month ago today. It’s been a month since you cornered me outside Avalon.” Arthur blinked in surprise, unable to believe that Merlin had been in their lives for that long. And yet at the same time, they had got used to him being there, Arthur knew it would be weird if the teenager disappeared on them now. He leant over and kissed him on the cheek before pulling him down the stairs.

  
“Doesn’t get you out of shopping.”  
  
“Oh you are such a prat!” Merlin whined, but allowed himself to be pulled along and out into the sunny street beyond. Neither could quite find it in themselves to break their hands apart.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training begins.

“Come on, Merlin, stop being such a girl.”

 

The warlock could only glare at Arthur’s voice coming from somewhere in front of him as he bent over, hands resting on his knees as his forced himself to breathe. Over the last month, he had gone through a whirlwind of emotions in regards to how he felt about the commander. Yet right now, he decided that he hated Arthur, and if they weren’t in a public place, he would do something to wipe the smirk off the man’s face. Not that he could see Arthur’s smirk, he was too busy staring at the ground as he focused on catching his breath, yet he just knew that Arthur would be smirking. It just seemed the sort of thing that the commander would do. Glancing down at himself as he straightened up again, Merlin grimaced at his clothing.

  
The shopping trip had been an interesting experience, to say the least. It didn’t help that they must have looked like an old married couple considering the way they argued over everything. Arthur had been forced to keep hold of Merlin’s hand on more than one occasion just to stop him from storming off. It was only the look of fear in the commander’s eyes that stopped Merlin from pulling free, remembering that there were several people out there that wanted him either locked up or dead. In a busy shopping centre, Arthur was the only one keeping him safe.

 

It wasn’t just Merlin’s safety that they were arguing over though, but the clothes as well. Arthur was fussy about what he let Merlin pick, often dragging him to the most expensive sections of shops only for Merlin to drag him straight back into the sale area. They had compromised in the end and got a few bits from each, Arthur insisting that he be the one to pay. That one, Merlin didn’t argue against. He had nothing left right now, and when Arthur had firmly pointed out that he couldn’t withdraw any money for it would mean they had a sure and easy way of tracking him, Merlin knew the battle was lost before he opened his mouth. Besides, he had peeked over Arthur’s shoulder and realised with one glance that Arthur could certainly afford it. Even his magic was letting it happen. It was as if it saw Arthur as the route for revenge on Will’s killers, and if it had to keep him happy for now, then so be it. Arthur had flung him into this world, it only seemed fair that he provided the outfits to accompany the hair-raising rollercoaster of a lifestyle that Merlin was now finding himself in.

  
Merlin had come back tired and slightly irritable, but with a brand new wardrobe that Gwen had been delighted about. She had insisted on seeing him in some of the clothing, and considering he could feel Arthur’s appreciative gaze every time he came out in something different, Merlin didn’t protest too much. Lunch had come and gone and Merlin would have been quite happy to have slept the afternoon away. But no sooner had he crashed down on the bed, Arthur was dragging him off it, rummaging through the bags until he found the outfit he had already claimed was Merlin’s “training” clothes. Loose, comfortable black trousers with a more fitted black top, something that was both easy to move in and looked the part. At the time, Merlin had been hard pushed to hide his excitement, knowing that the rest of the team all trained in just black. The fact that Arthur had been so picky about what he could and couldn’t get in order to train had just made it feel all the more real.

 

But right now...now he felt like an idiot. Seeing the team in their black clothing and casually jogging along, chatting as they did so had made him realise just how long they had been doing this for. His brain had promptly stopped working when he decided that Arthur looked nothing short of hot in his black clothing, and now the teenager felt like a child trying to join in an adult’s game. He wasn’t ready for this, he didn’t know what he was letting himself in for by letting them train him. What if it was all just a joke and they would simply stop and laugh when he couldn’t keep up? In the back of his mind, he knew that Arthur wouldn’t let that happen, he wouldn’t have gone to this effort in order to just mock him. But most of the team had been in the army all of their lives and the few that hadn’t had been with the unit long enough. Merlin simply knew that he was going to make a fool of himself.

 

He had initially been proud of himself for being able to keep up with their jogging. Until he realised that the others were steadily getting faster and faster, drawing away from him whilst still having a casual chat. They were on an open field, one Arthur assured him that was perfectly safe for Merlin to be on, that people seemed to be aware that it was used for the military and therefore came nowhere near. In reality, it was just used for Arthur and his team, but that suited them fine. Arthur finally seemed to have realised that their newest member of the team was no longer present and had dropped back to find out what was going on.

 

Picking at the top as he waited for Arthur to get back to him (there was no way he was going to catch up now, it was Arthur’s time to work for it), Merlin could only glare. This had all felt like such a good idea, a way of making him feel like he truly belonged. But now he felt nothing more than an idiot. Arthur had been right in saying that his stamina was lacking, and compared to a highly professional army unit, what did he know?  
  
“Why have you stopped?” Arthur had arrived back, and Merlin found that his glare was only deepening at the way the blond wasn’t the slightest bit short of breath regardless of the fact he had just run double the distance Merlin had. He was making it look so easy, and it was driving Merlin mad.

  
“This is stupid.”

 

“What, running?”

  
“No.  Why the hell did you think I would be able to keep up with you?” Merlin grumbled, trying to ignore the way that he sounded suspiciously close to tears. He wanted this way of proving himself, to make it feel like he was worthy of all the praise they had been piling on him for saving Gwaine’s life. Of course, it didn’t help when Arthur simply burst out laughing.

  
“You idiot.”

  
“Fine.” Glaring, Merlin turned to walk off, but Arthur’s hand on his arm stopped him. Determined that he wouldn’t be laughed at again, Merlin stared at the floor. Naturally, the commander wasn’t going to let that go and instead grabbed Merlin’s chin.

 

“Oh stop sulking, Merlin, pouting doesn’t suit you. You were never supposed to keep up with us. But you were, so I upped the pace. It’s good that you dropped back, it means that I know what pace you are comfortable with. Do you think that Percival can go as fast as Gwaine? Everyone has their different strengths, and we were never intending yours to be of a physical nature. Hell, you wouldn’t be needed on the team if that was the case.”

  
Despite the fact that Arthur’s voice had slipped into one of a commander, Merlin still found himself looking up hopefully.

  
“You need me?”  
  


“Don’t make me say it again. Now come on, start moving and I’ll pace you. I need to know what you are capable of.” Merlin smirked, leaning forward as his hand drifted up to hold Arthur’s wrist lightly.

  
“I’ll show you precisely what I’m capable of.”

  
“Stop it!” Merlin couldn’t help but note the way that Arthur’s voice hitched slightly and he seemed to have a slight blush working across his cheeks as he hastily snatched back his wrist. “We’re here to train, so stop being a...”  
  


“Yes, Arthur? What am I being?”

  
“Shut up and run.” Laughing openly as Arthur pulled away, Merlin rolled his eyes. Apparently Arthur could go up against deadly sorcerers without blinking, but couldn’t be in close proximity with Merlin without blushing. Storing that information away for later use, Merlin broke into a run.

  
“Stop.”

  
“You just told me to run.” Skidding to a stop with a moan, Merlin glared back at Arthur, wondering what he was missing this time.

  
“Okay, let me rephrase this. Go at my speed.” Merlin blinked as Arthur set off at a slow jog and easily fell in step with him.

  
“I can go faster than this.

  
“I don’t care. I meant what I said about your stamina. I want to know how long you can go on for. We don’t need you for speed, but we might need you to get from one place to the other and still be able to use magic by the time that you get there,” Merlin almost forgot to move as he gaped at the man, especially Arthur’s casual mention of him using his magic to aid them. Yet Arthur’s face was completely serious, he meant what he said. Letting out a groan, Merlin realised what was happening. Arthur was not going to let him off here.

 

The pair settled into a comfortable rhythm after a few moments of sniping, even if Merlin was pointedly ignoring the way he was breathing far heavier than Arthur. Apart from a few helpful hints in order to aid him, Arthur seemed happy enough, and Merlin slowly found that he was enjoying himself. He had spent the best part of a month cooped up in that flat, some of the time almost going mad with not knowing what was going on. To be able to run, to push himself and feel free was something he couldn’t put into words how it was making him feel. After half an hour steady running, Arthur nodded approvingly.

  
“Sprint to where the others are.” Merlin looked up, seeing the rest of the team a short distance away. Panting heavily, Merlin shook his head.

  
“No...way...” he gasped, talking now far harder than when they had first started running. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arthur roll his own.

  
“Merlin, I need to know that you have something left in you, something that will enable you to use your magic if you have just had to run a long distance.”

 

“Oh, I do, don’t...worry...” Forcing his burning legs to keep moving at the steady speed they were going at, Merlin didn’t expect Arthur to suddenly change tactic.

 

“Race me to the men, or no sex for a week.”  
  
“You’re not serious!”  
  
“Deadly.” Merlin did stop, gaping at Arthur like a fish out of water. The commander was the one saying  that he wanted to see what Merlin’s stamina was like, not that he wanted to kill him. But seeing the glint in Arthur’s eye, he knew that he had no choice in the matter. But then Arthur’s words replayed in his mind and he couldn’t help but grin. Arthur wanted to make sure he could still use magic, did he?  
  
Merlin’s eyes flashed and the commander practically yelped as his feet suddenly stopped, sinking him into the ground.

  
“New deal. Last one to the men...” Merlin lent forward, whispering in Arthur’s ear precisely what the loser had to do. The man’s eyes widened and his blush deepened, but he nodded.

 

“You’re on.” Merlin made to run off, knowing that his magic had Arthur stuck fast. What he wasn’t expecting was Arthur to grab him by the back of his shirt, spin him around and kiss him fiercely in the middle of a field. Taken by surprise, Merlin felt his hold on the magic slip as he was distracted and Arthur pulled back, grinning.

  
“See ya.” The magic had lost its grip and the commander sprang away, leaving the warlock standing in the middle of a field with no idea quite what had just happened.

 

“Hey!” He cried, chasing after Arthur. Realising that there was no way he was going to be able to catch up, he allowed his eyes to flash again and Arthur spectacularly fell over thin air, landing heavily in the mud.

 

“Slow coach!” Merlin yelled, aiming to jump over Arthur. He should have known that it would backfire on him as Arthur grabbed his ankle, pulling him down to the floor even as he tried to get up himself.

 

The race continued in such a fashion for the entire distance. Merlin flung another burst of magic at Arthur as he realised that the man was about to win, once again sending him down into the mud. As he sprinted past, not wasting time with theatrics, he barely noticed the commander getting up until he was thrown forward himself. Percival had to side step sharply as the pair skidded through the mud right into the centre of the group.

 

“Who won?!” How Arthur could sound that demanding considering Merlin was having trouble even drawing in a breath, the warlock had no idea, but the rest of the men just shrugged. Leon bent down and helped Arthur up, and Merlin grinned as Gwaine did the same for him.

  
“I don’t know, I think it was a draw.

 

“Damnit.” Merlin couldn’t help but grin at Arthur’s clear frustration, but was still focusing on getting oxygen back in his lungs too much to be able to come back with an answer.

 

“Sir, there is something that we need to consider though. We need to learn how to dodge magic if the anti-magic potions run out of time or we don’t get the chance to take them. You recovered each time, but Merlin could use magic to take you down.”  Leaning against Percival, Merlin just gaped as Arthur immediately latched onto Leon’s words with interest. Did nothing get this man tired? Especially considering he had to take pills every few hours on this day in order to even stay alive.

 

“What if we get a new training regime? We train Merlin up so that he can at least run away if it comes to it, and in return, we use his magic as part of our training? It would be good to have some more experience with recognising magic whilst not having to worry about being killed at the same time. What do you say, Merlin?”  
  
Merlin simply shrugged. He wasn’t yet sure whether he could trust his magic enough at the best of days, but to try and actively use it against people? It felt like an accident waiting to happen. Arthur seemed to sense his reluctance and moved forward, putting his hand on the warlock’s shoulder.

 

“We need you on this team with your magic, Merlin, not as a teenager too scared to use it. You might have to shove us out of the way, or stop something...we need to know what your magic feels like. Will you do it?”

  
“No more races?” Merlin asked, his eyes softening in the realisation that it wouldn’t just be training the men. He would be actively trying to use his magic rather than just letting it act out of instinct. It would be a learning curve for them all.

 

“Deal. No more races.” Arthur smiled as he seemed to realise that Merlin was making a compromise and the warlock sighed deeply.

  
“Okay.”  
  


“You’ll do it?” There was such hope in Lancelot’s voice that Merlin had to nod.

  
“I’ll do it.” Merlin’s voice was tentative and quiet, but yet as soon as he said the words, he knew that it was the right thing to do. This team might have originally been the ones he had been forced to hide from throughout the years, but now he was on the other side... He couldn’t quite explain what it felt like to know that they genuinely needed him for his magic. No more having to hide, no more having to pretend... He could be himself, they _wanted_ him to be himself. Apart from Will and his own mother, he wasn’t sure that he had ever felt this accepted.

  
“Great. Now who is hungry?” Laughing along with the others at Gwaine’s way of changing the topic, Merlin found he had a small smile resting on his face as Arthur casually slung one arm around his shoulders and the group made their way back to the flat. He wasn’t sure if it was deliberate or not the way the others seem to fall in step around them, effectively making sure that Arthur and Merlin were in the centre. Either way, Merlin wasn’t sure the last time he had felt this free, yet at the same time this safe. Will’s death was never far from his mind and he could feel the way that his magic would not let it go. Yet right now, he knew that he was doing okay.

 

So when Arthur gently gave him a squeeze and a questioning look, Merlin found that his smile of reassurance back was a genuine one.

 

MMM

 

Arthur had read the expression on Merlin’s face, and knew that the teenager wasn’t just agreeing to help them because he felt like he didn’t have a choice. Merlin seemed to genuinely want to help, and the commander couldn’t help but feel relieved. None of them had quite wanted to admit the fact that the rebellion seemed to be getting stronger with each day. Rumours involving outbursts of magic had been trickling in, yet the team were receiving no new orders, no new reports of who they were to go after now that Darg had been caught. From what he had heard from Base, Arthur knew it was simply because they had no names to give them. Aredian’s team were out circling, yet they hadn’t found anything either. It wasn’t through lack of trying on the army’s behalf, but simply because they didn’t know who they were looking for. Merlin’s help could be invaluable, especially as his magic had already saved both Arthur’s life and now Gwaine’s as well.

 

It was late by the time they had made it back to the flat, and Arthur didn’t want to push the matter regarding Merlin using his magic. He wanted the warlock to have time to think it through, to know precisely what they were asking of him before agreeing. If Merlin wasn’t happy and his magic was acting out, Arthur knew it was his team that would be bearing the brunt of that. That was another reason why he wanted to wait – he wanted to speak to them all personally to make sure they were happy with this. Only a month ago, they had sought to make sure that magic wasn’t free. Whilst they had all believed Arthur had a personally hatred of the gift, they were wrong. It was sorcerers that he loathed, especially as they had taken his sister from him. Merlin had shown him that a warlock was different, and even now, a month later, Arthur had no reason to doubt the man asleep on his shoulder.

  
“Think we worn someone out?” Gwaine muttered, a small smile on his face. They were all sprawled across the lounge in various positions, Gwen leaning against Lancelot the way that Merlin was leaning against Arthur. The commander smiled, gently brushing a stray piece of hair from Merlin’s forehead and calling his name. When the warlock didn’t stir, Arthur was satisfied that he was truly asleep and not just pretending.

  
“Whilst he is like this, I need to talk to you. To you all.” There was a serious note in his voice that made them all frown, even Gwaine.

  
“Arthur?” Leon’s voice betrayed the confusion that Arthur knew would be going through all of their heads. But he knew that he couldn’t keep this from them any longer, not when it could possibly put their lives in danger.

  
“I think we are being betrayed from the inside.” Immediately, Arthur regretted his choice of words as their faces clouded over and they glanced at each other.

  
“You really think...” Gwaine began loudly, and Arthur quickly held up his hand. He was somewhat surprised when his soldier fell silent, but Arthur breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Merlin hadn’t stirred. He didn’t want the teenager to know about this until they had no other choice.

  
“Not one of us, you bunch of idiots. Someone higher up.”  
  


“What makes you think that?” Elyan asked, casually twirling a piece of Gwen’s hair around his finger and ignoring the glare that his sister was shooting him as he tugged too hard. Arthur sighed, glancing once more at Merlin.

  
“No one knows that we got Merlin out of the cells. True, he disappeared, but no one would know who he was. Only Sigan and Alvarr were in contact with him, they were the only ones other than us that know his true potential, his file didn’t say anything. As far as I’m aware, those two are still safely locked up.”

 

“They are.” Lancelot murmured, and Arthur nodded his thanks. Lancelot had the most contact with Base, he would have been the first to hear – unofficially –if there had been another break out.

  
“Then how did they know to go to his flat? Why was Kanen even there, why did he torture Merlin’s mate for information, presumably about Merlin himself?”  
  


“You mean to say...”

 

“You don’t think...” Both Leon and Percival spoke at the same time, then both stopped and shot each other apologetic grins. Arthur simply ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

 

“I do think so. There is no other possibly reason. Neither Alvarr or Sigan would have had contact with the outside world, we would have heard if there had been a leak. But they would have had contact with someone inside, someone who would have then been able to pass that information on. You lot saw what they did to him, they were fully aware of the powers that he offered. All it would have taken was a single word and the whole resistance would have been after to him to join their cause. You saw what it took for us to take Merlin down in the first place. If they made him believe that he was fighting for what was right, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”  
  


Silence fell for a long moment as the rest of the team clearly tried to contemplate what Arthur was saying and what it could potentially mean to them. Their whole lives, their teams very existence was based entirely on trust. To know that someone might be betraying that was a thought that caused shivers to go down their spines. Judging by the way Percival shuddered, it literally was in his case.

  
“So who?” Leon eventually asked quietly, his eyes locked on his commander. He knew what this would mean to Arthur having to admit this, to know that everything he had tried to build, all the work they did could come crumbling around them simply because someone was being dishonest.

  
“Well, I know it isn’t my father, what do you think the chances of him talking to the resistance are?”  
  
“But what if it was Morgana?” Gwaine questioned. “What if he was still in contact with her, and didn’t realise what he was telling her?” Arthur shook his head.

  
“You didn’t see his face when she revealed herself. He would sooner cut out his own tongue than have anything to do with her. And he is always the one telling us to be wary of who could be working for the resistance.”

  
“Gaius?” Elyan asked, and this time, Arthur almost flinched at the thought the old man could betray them. He had known Gaius since before he could remember, the elderly doctor was the one that Arthur had gone to throughout his whole life. Not just for medical advice, but for the general problems that hit a teenage boy growing up in the army with a distant father. He was the only one who knew where Merlin was but rather than that making him a key suspect, it gave Arthur the proof he needed to be able to say with a clear conscious that he knew it was not Gaius betraying them.

  
“If it was Gaius, they would already have Merlin. Gaius knows that Merlin is here, and we’ve left him on his own in here enough times. They would have already struck if they knew Merlin was here. No, it’s someone that knows Merlin from his file, nothing else. There is only one other person that could leave.”  
  


“Aggravaine?” Gwaine exclaimed, cursing as he stood up and began pacing the room, his hands moving about agitatedly as he tried to vent his emotions. The man was still worked up enough after Darg, he didn’t need this on top of everything else. “And to think, I once saved that bastard’s life...”  
  


“Gwaine, sit down.” Leon barked, seeing the look on Arthur’s face. “Sir, are you sure? He is...”

 

“My uncle? I know. But why should that stop him, my own sister turned on me. She let her own half sister attempt to kill me, an attempt that they are still trying and would have succeeded if it wasn’t for Gaius and now Merlin as well. Family loyalty is obviously not that strong in the Pendragon family.”  
  
“So what do we do?”  
  
“We don’t do anything.” Arthur said quietly, his voice sincere and meaningful. “We have no proof, we don’t even know if it is him or not. But we need some way of finding out. Gaius knows that I suspect something...”

 

“You told Gaius and didn’t tell us?”

 

“I had no choice, Elyan, we were hiding a warlock. We were out of our depth, whether we were going to admit it or not. Besides, I already knew it couldn’t be Gaius and I didn’t want to worry you.”

  
“So why tell us now?” Arthur smiled softly, glancing down at the figure that was sprawled against his side.

  
“Merlin.” He said simply. “If he is going to be part of our team, I needed you to know that it is not just Aredian and the resistance we are hiding him from. If someone has spoken to Alvarr and Sigan, they know that Merlin isn’t just another sorcerer. And something tells me that Morgana would do anything to get her hands on a warlock. They would be unstoppable if they had use of Merlin’s magic, and we can’t let that happen.”

  
“Are you going to tell him?” Lancelot’s eyes were reflecting the same fondness that Arthur could see in Gwen’s eyes as they looked towards the sleeping teenager, the same look that he knew would be found in all of his team’s expressions. Merlin was one of them, regardless of the fact that his training had only just begun. And if there was one thing that this team was good at, it was looking out for one another. Arthur shook his head.

  
“Not until he is stronger. His magic is too unpredictable after Will’s death, he needs to calm down. He needs to be in control of himself, to know precisely what he is doing and who he is potentially up against. If we tell him it was someone our side that betrayed him to the resistance and therefore potentially could be held responsible for the death of his friend, I don’t want to think about what he could possibly do if he finds that out.”

 

“But surely we can’t just keep him in the dark? It’s not fair on the kid.” Gwaine argued, and Arthur sighed as he realised he didn’t know what the best thing to do was. Luckily, Leon was rather adept at reading his commander and could see the frustration boiling under the surface.

  
“If that is what you think is best for now, Sir, then that is what shall happen. We will _all_ stay quiet. But we should up his training.”

  
“We’ll start in the morning.”

 

“We should start now...”

  
“We’ll start in the morning.” There was a firm note in Arthur’s voice as he repeated his words and Leon backed down. Sliding one of Merlin’s arms around his neck, the commander then let his own arms slip under Merlin’s legs, effectively picking him up.

 

“Come on you, bedtime...” He murmured softly, standing up and beginning to make his way into the bedroom with Merlin in his arms. The warlock sighed softly, not properly waking up as he snuggled into Arthur’s neck. Pausing in the doorway, Arthur looked back to find his entire team watching him. Or rather, watching Merlin.

 

In that one look, Arthur knew he could count on them to keep the warlock safe if he was ever not able to do it himself.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was almost scary how quickly a regime was established.

It was almost scary how quickly a training regime was established. They would spend most of the morning working on Merlin’s fitness, incorporating him into their normal routines as the team continued with what they had done every day for the last few years. Merlin’s speed and stamina slowly began to increase once a month had passed just because he was working his body in a way that he had never truly done before. He still couldn’t match the rest of the team, but none of them seemed to mind. As Arthur was constantly pointing out to him, they didn’t need him for how he could cope physically, but what his magic could do to aid them.

 

After a quick lunch, the team would head into town. Percival had discovered an abandoned warehouse, and after a few casual enquiries, Arthur had managed to effectively buy it, allowing the group to use it for another part of their training. But this time, Merlin wasn’t the one flagging behind. He was the one practically leading the session, teaching the team how to recognise the feel of his magic so that they knew what was hostile and what was not. They had even begun to be able to brace themselves against his powers without the help of the tonics as well. After the first week, everyone had been covered in bruises and irritable about how a skinny teenager was simply tossing them out of his path, but just as Merlin had begun to strengthen his body, the rest of the unit began to strengthen their minds. They might have still been no match for Merlin’s power, but they were getting better at being able to detect when a magical blast was about to be sent their way. Merlin had almost killed himself laughing when Gwaine had just ducked once instead of trying to withstand the effects. The look on Arthur’s face had been priceless, until he himself had been flung across the room. It was then that they realised knowing it was coming was just as helpful as being able to withstand it.

 

But whilst the team were slowly becoming stronger and stronger, practically with each passing day, that wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Gwen had all but moved into the flat, and not only was it cleaner than even Merlin’s attempt had resulted in, but there was always food around now. No longer were the team allowed to have take-aways every few night, but instead got to sample the delights of Gwen’s cooking. Lancelot always flushed when he heard his girlfriend scolding his team for not picking up the towels properly, but Arthur always had a small smile on his face instead. The flat was slowly but surely being turned from an army base into a home, and everyone’s attitude was reflecting that change.

 

Arthur had thought that his team had always got on well, that they had been able to live together in such close quarters whilst doing a highly stressful job and not simply kill each other being testimony to that. But since Merlin, and then Gwen, had moved in, laughter was often heard ringing throughout the enclosed space in a way it had never done before. No longer did they get back from a day training and only talk about sorcerers and who they had to go after next. Not that the conversations always stayed that formal and business like, but now, they would talk about something completely unrelated. Something random and insignificant such as the weather, or what was on TV that night.

 

The relaxed atmosphere had certainly helped Gwaine come to terms with what had happened with Darg. Rather than making a big deal out of it like he might have done previously, the soldier just pulled his commander to one side during their morning run and the pair had all but shot off, talking as they did so. By the time they had lapped Merlin twice, Gwaine was smiling again. But it was more than that. It was a sign of how close the team was. As soon as Gwaine had relaxed, an unknown tension had vanished from Arthur and his smiles were more genuine and frequent. That in turn had caused Leon to relax, and the knock on effect had spread around the whole team, even Merlin and Gwen feeling the change even if they hadn’t noticed the tension building up in the same way. There were no more dramas, no more accidents, just things beginning to steadily move on.

  
For Merlin, it felt like he had been with them for years. Everything that he would have once scoffed at was slowly becoming the norm, even the frustration that Arthur still wouldn’t teach him how to use a gun. Both his body and mind were growing, and as that was happening, he was becoming calmer. He knew that helping the men react to the magic was helping him as well, it was allowing him to work out what made it react instinctively and what he could direct. The new level of control was slowly beginning to brush away the fears that he would lash out and hurt someone. He still thought about Will regularly, but the training helped keep his mind busy and he knew that it would ultimately help him bring his murderer to justice. As long as he kept telling himself that, his magic seemed content to let things progress at their own speed rather than trying to speed things along itself. Not that he had time to really think about revenge, he was always so tired when he got back to the flat after the training that he often just curled up in bed and fell straight asleep, somehow ending up wound up in Arthur as he did so without ever stirring. And if he wasn’t tired enough for the dream to claim him the second his head hit the pillow, then the commander often had a few tricks up his sleeve in order to rectify that and wear him out more than Merlin thought was physically possible. But despite the exhaustion, it was a pleasant feeling in its own way, and Merlin couldn’t help but thinking now and again that going to Avalon that night had been the best thing to have happened to him. The guilt always flooded him immediately afterwards, thinking of all that had gone wrong, but he couldn’t help it. For the first time in years, he felt like he belonged.

 

But although it had been almost two months since Merlin had joined them, Arthur had still not been able to bring himself to tell the warlock that there was a traitor betraying them all even as they trained. Every day that passed, he knew that not only was the warlock getting stronger, but them as a team were as well. They were getting used to having a warlock in their midst, and were even in the middle of working out new attack strategies that incorporated Merlin into them. That was why, one sunny Wednesday morning, Arthur knew that he had to tell Merlin the truth.

 

The team had just got back from their normal run and were having the daily argument over the showers. Arthur had simply thrown Merlin on the bed and run in before he could protest, but now that he was done, he could hear Elyan yelling at Gwaine to hurry up. He wasn’t truly paying attention to his men though. Instead, his arms were folded across his chest as he leant on the doorframe, watching as Merlin pulled on a shirt and ran a towel through his hair.

  
“So what’s the plan for this afternoon then? Ready for me to throw you for once?”

 

“We’re going for lunch.” Arthur declared, ignoring the way he heard a sharp intake of breath coming from behind him. Leon had obviously overheard and knew that Arthur’s statement only included him and Merlin, and it was because he wanted to talk to the warlock rather than there being anything romantic about it.

 

“Oh, we are, are we?” Arthur rolled his eyes at the playful smirk Merlin shot his way and turned away in order to let the warlock finish getting ready in peace.

  
“Yes, so hurry up.”

 

“Arthur?” No sooner had he turned away, Leon caught his eye and jerked his head over to one side. Knowing that he had to reassure his second in commander, Arthur headed over.

  
“You’re going to tell him about the traitor?” Leon’s voice was low as the man clearly realised that Arthur was trying to not make such a big deal out of this. As a result of them not being given any sorcerers to go after in the last month, they had no more proof that someone was indeed betraying them than they had when Arthur had first voiced his suspicions. Arthur glanced back towards the bedroom door before nodding.

  
“He is in control now, we can’t keep it from him forever.”

  
“But going on your own, are you sure that is such a good idea?” Unable to stop himself from smiling at the concern in the man’s voice, Arthur nodded. Merlin may have been one of the team, but the commander knew that Leon’s concern would first and foremost always be him. Nothing was ever going to change that, and that knowledge touched Arthur deeply.

  
“It’s safer. We’ll be in public and I don’t think he will hurt me, his magic has never done so before even when it had the chance. If we tell him here, with us all present, he might see it is a threat and lash out. I know we are getting better at resisting him, but we can’t stop him if he loses control again.”  
  
“But we could stop him. You can’t exactly cuff him out in public.” Leon argued, clearly not prepared to let it go. Arthur just smiled gently.

  
“I appreciate you looking out for me, I really do. But trust me, I know what I’m doing.”  
  
“Yes, Sir.” Leon might have been agreeing, but Arthur could hear the reluctance in his voice. Reaching out, the commander squeezed his arm gently.

  
“Trust me.” He repeated in a whisper just as Merlin appeared out of the bedroom. He glanced around, caught sight of Arthur and smiled, walking over. Sliding his arms around the commander’s waist from behind, he leant his chin on Arthur’s shoulder and grinned.  
  
“I’m ready when you are.” He muttered, and Arthur could see the way Leon forced himself to relax.

  
“Come on then.” Linking their fingers together again, Arthur pulled Merlin away, moving towards the door as he did so. Lancelot simply nodded at them from where he was walking towards the kitchen to find Gwen, Percival winked and Elyan didn’t stop his angry tirade at Gwaine for taking too long in the bathroom. It was just another normal day for them, showing precisely how used to Merlin they had become. Merlin opened the door and slipped out into the corridor beyond, his actions far more controlled and cautious than how he had been all those months ago. Watching him, Arthur couldn’t help but swallow. They were making a soldier out of what had been an innocent teenager, and right now, Arthur wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. Who knew how deep this change would run?  
  
He made to follow the warlock out, but just before he shut the door, he caught Leon’s eye once more and smiled reassuringly. Everything was going  to be fine, _he_ was going to be fine. He had come to trust Merlin’s magic in a way that even he couldn’t explain, and just knew that no matter how angry the warlock got at hearing it was possibly one of the “good” guys that had ultimately led to Will’s death, Arthur was convinced that he wouldn’t turn on the commander.  
  
“So? Where are we going?” Although Merlin’s voice was as light as ever as he followed Arthur down the stairs, almost like an eager puppy, there was a cautious note in his tone. He had been with them long enough to recognise that Leon was worried about something to do with Arthur. The fact that the commander had then left with only Merlin gave the teenager a pretty big clue at where the worry was being directed. Arthur simply shrugged and opened the door onto the main street, glancing up and down as he did so before gesturing that it was safe. It was almost scary if he thought how about used to doing small things like this they had become, automatically trying to protect Merlin.

  
“Wherever you want.” As Merlin joined him on the street, Arthur causally flung his arm over the teenager’s shoulders. It was nothing to do with wanting to keep him safe from unknown enemies that might be lurking, but more out of a desire to stop the warlock from tripping over his own feet. For someone that was graceful, almost elegant when he was using his magic, Merlin was the most clumsiest person that Arthur had ever met. He couldn’t work out whether it was endearing or just a way to make him worry unnecessarily when something as simple as walking down the street turned into a challenge. Merlin, however, stiffened in his embrace slightly.

 

“Arthur, what’s going on? Leon looked like I was going to turn you into a toad or something.” Arthur chuckled as he tightened his grip around Merlin’s shoulder, but he knew that it sounded forced even to him.

 

“Not here.” He said, an unspoken promise in his voice. It wasn’t that he was not going to tell Merlin, only that the teenager was going to have to wait a few more moment before he could find out what was going on. Luckily, through his time with the team, Merlin accepted that and the pair walked in a companionable silence further into town. Arthur didn’t want to go too far in, just in case. He knew what he had said to Leon and how he had reassured the man that everything was goin to be fine, but somehow it still just seemed safer to do this on the outskirts.

 

He led the way into a small cafe, one that he visited frequently. He had been in enough times that the waitress –Elena, her name tag read – knew what it was that he wanted and only had to double check Merlin’s. They knew him well enough to know to offer him some privacy when he had company, although whether that was because Gwaine had once nearly punched another customer after the man had overheard something he shouldn’t, Arthur wasn’t sure. He waited until the drinks arrived, cradling his coffee between his hands and staring down into the swirling dark liquid before opening his mouth.

  
“Are you in control?” He muttered quietly, not wanting Merlin to take it the wrong way but knowing that there was no point in continuing if Merlin was worked up from the very start.

  
“You know that I am. Arthur, what’s going on? Why do you and Leon look like someone died?”

  
“Because someone did.” Arthur had no idea when he let get of his coffee and stretched his hand across the table, taking Merlin’s in his own. He told himself it was so that he could monitor the teenager’s pulse and therefore feel when he was losing control, but he knew that it was a lie, just something to make him feel better about the public display of affection.

  
“Your friend did.” Immediately, Merlin tensed and Arthur tightened his grip. “And you could have if we hadn’t got there in time.”  
  
“But you did. We’ve spoken about this, I don’t understand...”

  
“Merlin, Will died because of us. We don’t think the Resistance were the ones to initially track you down.”  
  


“But...” Merlin was chewing on his lip, clearly not quite putting together what Arthur was implying. “You said that they wouldn’t know about me. How could they, you were the ones with my file.”  
  
“But others had access to that file.” Arthur explained softly, knowing that he was going to have to put it bluntly. “Merlin, we think that someone on the inside, someone higher up, is feeding the resistance information.”

 

Immediately, Arthur could feel Merlin’s pulse begin to race and he tightened his grip instantly, both as a way of warning Merlin to calm down and trying to offer him the reassurance he would need in order to do so. Merlin visibly took a deeo breath, even though Arthur could see the anger burning brightly in his eyes.

  
“How long have you known?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Arthur admitted, going back to staring into his cup even though he kept his hand stretched out across the table. “It’s only a suspicion, I have no proof. But if it is true, then we are the reason that they went to your flat, that Will...”

  
“No.”Merlin snapped, laying his other hand on top of Arthur’s. “ _They_ are the reason that Will was killed. Not you. Never you, Arthur. You already have said even today that you saved my life. I don’t just mean at the cells, even though you did there as well. You came after me then, you stopped the magic before I lost myself to it completely. I would have become everything that I had feared if I had lost control that day.”

  
“Merlin, I...” Whatever Arthur wanted to say was lost as his phone let out a shrill beep. Rolling his eyes, the commander dug it out of his pocket, took one look at the screen and felt all the colour drain from his face.

  
“Arthur? Arthur, what’s wrong?” It was Merlin’s turn to reach across the table this time, and Arthur could only look up, staring at him whilst hearing his own heart pound.

  
“My father. He’s at the flat. It’s a code red message from Gwaine, meaning he wants me back there, yet I’m not supposed to know. I’m supposed to just walk in and be caught off guard.”  
  
“So what’s the problem?”

 

“Last time he did this, it was to catch me sneaking back in after I had been out drinking when I was only fifteen.”

  
“Your point?” Arthur took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say.

  
“My point, Merlin, is that it must mean that he knows that I’m doing something I shouldn’t. And right now, the only thing that could be is...”

  
“Me.” Merlin whispered, his own eyes reflecting Arthur’s fear as he realised what was being said. Arthur ran his hand through his hair, biting his lip as he tried to figure out what to do. He was just thankful for Gwaine’s warning.

  
“Hang on...” Merlin began slowly, clearly thinking hard. “Does he know you are with me as the warlock, or just know that you are with someone when you should be with your team?”  
  
“I don’t know...”

  
“If he knows, it means that he has seen me, right?” Arthur nodded, even though he wasn’t completely sure himself. “Therefore if he truly knows who I am, I would already be back in the cells.”  
  
“Wait a second, are you saying?”  
  
“We walk straight into his trap, and you even go as far as fucking introducing me to your father. That way, he won’t think that you have anything to hide.”

  
“And if he does know who you are?”

 

“Then I have my awesome team to watch my back.” Arthur wasn’t fooled, he knew that Merlin was trying to convince himself as much as the commander. But he couldn’t deny that he appreciated Merlin’s effort to be brave, knowing that the man who had commissioned the team to go after him and therefore tear his world apart was effectively waiting for him back in the place that he had come to consider home. If he was honest, Arthur wasn’t sure if they had another choice. If Gwaine had sent the code red, it meant that he was sure. After all, he had been the one who had been forced to listen to Uther yell at Arthur for hours the last time he had been caught out. When the commander had all but collapsed in a panting heap the next day after he had run laps to his father’s satisfaction, it had been Gwaine who had sworn that he wouldn’t let it happen again. If Uther knew who Merlin was, they were all screwed. But if he pretended to walk into the trap, then maybe they could just get away with it.

  
“Sure that your magic is in control?”  
  
“Considering you have just told me that a man who would want me dead if he could is waiting for us and that your so called awesome team might not be quite so awesome as someone is screwing you over, yeah, I’m pretty much in control.”

 

Tossing some money down on the table, Arthur winked at Elena and stood up, dragging Merlin out of the shop with him. There was no point in making her aware that he was closer to freaking out than he had ever been in his entire life. But whereas the silence that had fallen over them as they had walked to the shop had been comfortable, the one walking back was tense and awkward. Arthur didn’t know what he was supposed to say to try and reassure Merlin, his mind seemed to always just go blank when faced with his father. But the fact that Arthur was taking it so badly – he was more than aware that they would all be as good as dead if Uther knew who Merlin was – seemed to be calming down Merlin. He couldn’t blame it on some trick or trap on Arthur’s behalf when he was having to almost having to force the commander back to stop him bolting.

 

“Your father is really that bad?” Merlin eventually muttered, having watched Arthur carefully check the street once again before he pulled the warlock into the building and the two began to climb the stairs to the flat. Each step made Arthur want to just sink through the floor.

  
“You haven’t met him.”  
  
“I almost have.” It was only Arthur’ quick reactions that stopped Merlin from falling down the stairs from where he walked into Arthur after the blond abruptly stopped in shock.

  
“When?”

 

“Oh, you were busy dying at the time. I had a good explore of your bathroom though. You could say it gave me idea for what else the shower could be used for.” Right on cue, Arthur blushed slightly and even managed a small smile. He knew full well that the lighthearted tone to Merlin’s voice was an act, that the man was just as freaked out as Arthur was, but the attempt to change the topic was greatly appreciated.

 

Despite going as slow as he could possibly get away with, Arthur still found that it was far too soon when he found himself outside of the flat door. He stretched up a hand in order to open the door, and realised with a start that he was shaking slightly. It wasn’t just because it was his father trying to catch him out that was worrying him. It was the idea that someone knew who Merlin was and that everything they had spent the last couple of months working towards was going to be taken away from him. That _Merlin_ was going to be taken away.

  
“Hey.” Merlin saw the tremble and took Arthur’s hand, bringing his knuckles up to his mouth and kissing them. “It’s going to be okay.”

  
“Whatever happens in there, Merlin, I....”  
  
“Arthur. Stop. It’s going to be fine.” Arthur managed a short smile of reassurance, trying to pull himself together in the process. He was a commander for god’s sake, his own father shouldn’t have this affect on him.

  
“Remember, we don’t know he is there.”   
  
“Wait, I...” Merlin didn’t manage to finish his sentence before Arthur had shifted his grip until he had hold of Merlin’s wrist rather than his hand and all but burst through the door. In one glance, he could see his entire team sitting on the sofa like naughty school boys. Judging by the way Gwen could barely even be seen through in the kitchen and Lancelot had a glare on his face that only appeared when someone made a comment about his girlfriend, Arthur didn’t need to ask what had happened.  Knowing that he wasn’t supposed to know that Uther was there, Arthur made a show of pulling up short.

  
“Father? We weren’t expecting... what’s...” Pretending to look caught out, Arthur dropped his eyes almost submissively as his father turned to face him. He kept his gaze lowered for a few moments before letting his eyes flicker up again. Defiance shone from them. He was not going to let this man walk all over him in his own home.

  
“Who is this, Arthur?” Forcing himself to fidget nervously, Arthur’s mind was racing as he tried to come up with some excuse as to who Merlin was. They had never got that far, but Merlin’s cut off remark just before Arthur had dragged him through the door played over in his mind, a sign that Merlin had realised that beforehand. But part of him, however, was singing in relief. Uther was not the type of man to play games. If he truly knew who Merlin was, they would not be having this conversation.

  
“Oh... James...” It took Arthur a moment to realise that Merlin was talking to him and just not giving away that he knew their names. “You never told me there would be another one.” And then, to Arthur’s absolute astonishment, Merlin practically swaggered across the room.

  
“You know this will cost you extra, right?” He drawled, glancing over his shoulder and winking at the commander as he stepped closer to Uther. Just before he got too close, Gwaine reached out a hand. He grabbed Merlin’s wrist, almost as if he was scared of what would happen if Merlin got to close. Rather than just being held back, however, Merlin spun, dumping himself on Gwaine’s lap and running one hand down his cheek in a way that was almost suggestive. Arthur was having trouble stopping his eyes bursting from their sockets, wondering how the hell Merlin had the confidence to do this.

 

“Now, now, handsome, you know you have to wait your turn.” Merlin ran his thumb across Gwaine’s lip, slipped from his lap and continued through to the bedroom. “I’ll be waiting. Don’t keep me waiting too long, or it will cost you.”

  
“You drive a hard bargain.” How he got his mouth to work, Arthur had no idea. He just knew that if he continued to stand here, his father would stop buying the act. The last thing they needed was for him to think too deeply about who Merlin truly was.

  
“Oh but I’m so worth it,” Merlin responded with a wink. With that, he shut the door with a snap.

  
“Arthur!”  
  
“Father, meet....George.” It was the first name that came into his head as he thought of Merlin’s crazy neighbour, and he could only hope that Merlin hadn’t heard. Knowing Arthur’s luck, he would have.

  
“You...you hired...” Arthur didn’t think he had ever seen his father rendered speechless before and made a mental note to thank Merlin later on. This expression he didn’t think he would be forgetting any time soon.

  
“What can we say, Sir?” Gwaine drawled, leaning back on the sofa and craning his head towards the bedroom door with a smirk as he let one leg cross the other. “Six guys, one flat...Lance here is the only one that has got a woman.”

 

To say that Uther looked a mixture of horrified, shocked and disgusted was an understatement, but he did clear his throat self consciously.  
  
“I have a report for you first thing in the morning, Arthur. Come alone.” With that, he swept from the flat, letting the door bang shut behind him. There was a stunned silence before Gwaine suddenly gave a great shout of laughter.

  
“Did you see his face?!”  
  
“Thanks for the tip off,” Arthur muttered, already beginning to move towards the bedroom. His movement almost seemed to break the spell and the rest of the men jumped to their feet.

  
“Thank Merlin for being such a quick thinker, you looked frozen there, mate.” Gwaine responded, slapping Arthur on the back and throwing himself down onto the floor, still chuckling. Arthur made to make some sort of comment when the bedroom door burst open again and a red-faced Merlin reappeared.

  
“ _George?!_ You said I was called George?” Arthur grinned, crossing the room properly and pushing him back into the bedroom.

  
“I thought you were on a timer.” They didn’t even need to look to see the others roll their eyes as Merlin grabbed him by the front of the shirt and yanked him into the room. This time, the door closed with a bang as Arthur kicked it, and didn’t reopen again.

 


	20. Chapter 20

Merlin focused on his breathing, inhaling and exhaling at a steady rate in order to keep his nerves under control. He had been training with the team for six months now, and if he was honest, he felt like a completely different person. His mind had gone from being a paranoid mess that someone was going to discover his secret even if he hid his feelings behind a display of arrogance, had finally settled and calmed down. He was beginning to understand his powers more with each passing day as he was finally allowed to use them out in the open (well, the flat and the training room) and not only was his level of control far better than he had ever experienced before, so was the extent of things that he could do. Beforehand, he had always just acted instinctively, but now, it was as if hi magic was beginning to listen to him properly. Not only was his mind and magic stronger than ever, but physically he was in a much better shape than he had been all those months ago. He had never noticed because of how slender he had always been, but now Merlin felt nothing short of fit. Lean muscles had appeared all over him, and whilst he knew that he would never get into the same league as Arthur and Gwaine, he was happy with who he was becoming.

 

Merlin’s training had moved on after the first few weeks when the team had become used to what he could and couldn’t do. Many hours had been spent crammed in the flat establishing new attack strategies that would have Merlin there to back them up with his magic. Arthur had claimed that he didn’t want more people knowing about Merlin than necessary, leading to a fierce argument between the two in which Merlin claimed that Arthur was just trying to be too protective. Leon had joined in on Arthur’s side, claiming that if someone was passing on information from the cells, then Merlin showing himself just gave them a clear and blazing arrow as to where he was. For the team’s protection, Merlin shouldn’t use magic.

  
That had been the only time that Merlin had felt his magic begin to rise up without his say so. But luckily, both Gwaine and Lancelot had come to his defence, claiming that there was no use having him on the team if he was never going to use his magic. Gwaine had made the point of implying that Merlin wasn’t much use otherwise, but rather than feeling hurt, the warlock had just grinned. The soldier was right, compared to them, he was useless...Unless he could use his magic. Finally, Arthur had agreed that Merlin would have to use his magic to help and things had moved on from there.

 

But even with the team accepting what needed to be done and organising themselves so that they were able to do it, they still had a problem. It was all very good in theory saying that Merlin could help them out, but until they actually had a mission to carry out, that was all it was, theory. Arthur had got in contact with his father when they had still received no new orders after a month, and had been subjected to a very stressed out Uther telling him that he would just have to stand by. It was only when Gaius had managed to slip to the flat one evening that the reasoning behind that stress became apparent. There were rumours of sorcerers flying about left, right and centre, but rather than being able to give the unit a list of names to go after, Uther had found that they all seemed to be nameless. Even Aredian was his sharp team couldn’t identify anyone, and Arthur had a feeling that he knew why. If they were being betrayed from within, then it was obvious that whoever the traitor might be was feeding information to the Resistance about how to not get caught. But it was a lose-lose situation, for without anyone to go after, they had no way of trying to prove who it was that was betraying them.

 

After a worrying five months, they finally received the call they had been after. The team consisted of four people that were army through and through, the other two having lost everything to be able to do this job, a warlock that still had no idea what he was doing and a woman who had her hands full keeping them calm. There was only so long that they could sit around doing nothing, and it was beginning to show, especially where Arthur and Gwaine were concerned. Merlin had seen how worried Leon was beginning to look as he was forced to separate his commander and his fellow solider from each other for the fourth time in a week, and didn’t need to ask to know that this was not normal. It was strange – things were obviously different for the team when they didn’t have anyone to go against, and this quietness had come at the same time that Merlin had walked into their lives. But unlike every other disruption, he knew that this was not his fault.

  
Just as the cuts on his arms had healed but left scars, Merlin often found himself thinking about Will. Initially, it had been with a sense of grief that had made him beyond angry and his magic had smashed a few plates in fury. But as he gained control and grew, he calmed down. His grieving had moved on and whilst he still wanted revenge on those who had murdered his friend, it was not with the same wild emotions as before. He knew that if he stayed with Arthur, he would get what he sought, and hopefully would not lose himself in the process.

 

But before he could begin to worry that they would never receive another call out and he would spend the rest of his life hiding in a flat, a new set of orders had finally arrived. A young sorcerer had been spotted on the outskirts of town, using magic to force two men away from him. If the report was anything to go by, the two thugs had been harassing the younger man, but Merlin held his tongue and just stayed in his hiding spot until Uther had left again.

 

That evening had been unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He hadn’t been focused enough when the team had planned how to go after Darg, and his had been the case before that so he hadn’t been around for that either. But although he had spent many an evening with the team planning mock-up scenarios and the role he would play in them, he had never seen them plan a specific attack.

 

The man’s name was Gilli, and judging by the report that had come in from Aredian’s team, they weren’t sure if he actually possessed magic himself or just had acquired some magical prop. The garbled response from the thugs was that his eyes and a ring had glowed before they had been thrown back into a nearby wall, leading Arthur to say that he believed that if they neutralised the ring, he would not have nearly so much power. Merlin had stayed quiet, feeling that it wasn’t his place to offer any advice when they clearly knew what they were talking about more than he did. He still couldn’t help but wonder how they had discussed his case though, and whether Arthur had revealed that night that they had already met, or waited until he had forced his men to go back for the warlock. Some of his troubled thoughts must have shown on his face for when Arthur next glanced up, he looked quizzically at the teenager. Merlin had simply shrugged and forced his expression into one of neutrality.

 

Finally, however, the team had a plan in place, and Merlin had been left gobsmacked. He had just assumed that some of the scenarios that they had pretended with before had been them showing off, claiming that they could do stuff that was actually beyond their level. But having listened to them plan out this attack, Merlin realised just how good they were. There was no trace of amusement or joking in their faces as they had discussed where to attack from, and not for the first time was Merlin suddenly glad that he was now on their side. Having the team come after him once had been scary enough, he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to do it again.

 

“You okay?” Arthur’s gruff voice startled Merlin out of his musings and he tore his mind away from reminiscing about the last six months and brought it back into the present day. He blinked, forced a smile on his face and nodded, avoiding eye-contact with the rest of the team. Percival was driving as per usual, Lancelot in the front with him to guide him towards where they believed that Gilli would be. The rest of the team were riding in the back like per usual, even if Merlin was still forcing himself to not think about all the other times he had been in here.

  
“Fine.”

  
“Prince, E.T.A. five minutes.”

 

“Roger that, Knight 2. Knight 3 and 4, you know your positions?”  
  


“Take the east road and make sure the target doesn’t make it into the busy side of town.” Elyan responded dutifully, casually checking his gun as he did so. Arthur looked towards Gwaine, who grinned and winked back.

 

“Don’t worry, princess, we know what we are doing.” Arthur simply rolled his eyes and pulled down his black hat over his blond hair. He was the only one that wore one, everyone else being able to blend in with the background far easier.

  
“And no random prototypes this time, Knight 3. I don’t care how many drinks they offered you for it, I want a nice clean and quick operation.”

 

Merlin couldn’t help but laugh as Gwaine simply responded by sticking his tongue at out Arthur, but the noise sounded fake even to his own ears. He couldn’t help it, he was nervous. Not only was this the first mission that he was going on with the team, he knew that he genuinely had to get this right on the first go this time, or who knew what the consequences were going to be. There was no second shot like there had been during the training regimes, not chance to simply try again. Not to mention that this would be the first time that he consciously used his magic out in the open without looking over his shoulder in concern.

  
“Everything okay, warlock?” Arthur asked, and although Merlin knew that this was the same man that he had first met all those months ago, Merlin still swallowed hard. Arthur sounded so professional like this, they all did as they casually used their code-names. It made him realise just how dangerous this unit was and quite what he had landed himself in.   
  
“Fine, A-prince.” He stuttered slightly, his tongue darting out to moisten his dry lips, already feeling like he was beginning to slip up. He didn’t notice Arthur stand up and stumble across the van towards him, or the way that Leon, Gwaine and Elyan pointedly looked in the other direction. It was only when Arthur’s hand came to a rest against the side of his neck, grounding and reassuring, did he realise that the commander had even moved.

  
“Merlin, look at me.” Arthur said softly, exerting a small amount of pressure on Merlin’s neck in order to force him to look up at the blond. For a long second, Merlin just turned his face but kept his eyes looking the other way before he finally gave in and turned his gaze on Arthur. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but he didn’t realise that Arthur could look so reassuring.

 

“You are going to be fine. Trust me. If at any point you feel like things are getting too much, you simply change your code-name from warlock to servant and head back towards the van. Percy normally stays with it anyway in case we need him for a quick getaway, so you won’t be on your own and no one will think any less of you. But trust me, I think you can do this.”

 

“What if I get one of you hurt?” Merlin whispered, knowing that the others could hear him regardless of how loud his voice was. Arthur smirked softly.

  
“Then you are on washing up for a week. Gwaine left me facing against a gargoyle without any damn back up for half an hour a few months ago. We all get each other hurt sometimes. We all muck up.” Merlin didn’t need to see Gwaine squirm to realise that they were talking about Darg and how it had nearly cost Gwaine his life.

  
“Leon doesn’t.”

 

“True.” Arthur responded with a laugh, and Merlin suddenly felt the tension leave him as the – _his-_ commander glanced towards Leon with a fond smile. The man in question blushed slightly, and Merlin couldn’t help but smile. Arthur was right, worrying about what could go wrong was more likely to make it happen compared to if he just went out there with a clear head.

 

“But we’re not all Leon.” Arthur continued, giving Merlin’s neck a squeeze before moving to sit back down again, checking his own weapon as he did so. Watching the whole team work on what would be their defence made Merlin conscious that he didn’t have anything in his hands so he instead let a spark of magic dance across his fingertips. It was amazing how much it immediately calmed him down, and Arthur had an almost proud smile on his face by the time that Merlin next glanced up.

 

“You’re going to be fine.” There was such reassurance and promise in his voice that Merlin couldn’t help nodding, trusting in Arthur even if he didn’t trust in himself. Whilst the man was a good lover and an even better friend, Merlin was under no doubts that he was an excellent commander.

  
“Two minutes, Sir.” Lancelot reported and Arthur nodded.

  
“Drink up, men.” They all seemed to move simultaneously picking up their anti-magic tonics and draining them in one gulp, Gwaine pulling a comical face at the taste afterwards. Merlin smiled, but couldn’t bring himself to comment. He was the only one that wasn’t being protected against magic, needing to be able to work his own. Nerves stronger than he had ever felt before were beginning to take hold, and Merlin had just opened his mouth in order to inform Arthur that he didn’t think that he could do this when the van lurched to one side almost violently.

 

“Target spotted.” Percival’s voice called through, and the atmosphere in the back of the van suddenly turned professional, everyone straightening up and beginning to fiddle with one piece of equipment or another. Arthur caught Merlin’s eye and smiled reassuringly before jumping up.

 

“You all know the plan. Don’t deviate from it, don’t play heroics. I want this under wraps in an hour, this part of town is rough and therefore will draw attention.” Everyone climbed to their feet, activating headsets and checking weapons once again as Percival brought the van to a smooth stop.

  
“Round Table, go.”

 

With Arthur’s final command given, they all jumped out of the van and immediately spread out.

 

MMMM

 

Half an hour later, Merlin was wondering the streets on his own, cold and finding that he was jumping at every small noise. He had caught a glimpse of Arthur running past a few moments ago, and then heard Gwaine go back the other way. But he knew that if he wasn’t looking for the team, there would have been no way that he would have noticed them. They were almost scarily good. In one brief, split second moment of anxiety, he wondered whether they were just not telling him where to go, but Lancelot’s report the few seconds afterwards had ruled out any possibility that they had put him on a different wavelength over the comms. They were just good at this.

 

To be honest, Merlin knew that he was more than likely to just get in the way if he tried to move the way they did. It had been made perfectly clear that his role in the team was completely different to that of the others, and for him to try and act otherwise would potentially just put everyone in danger. At the end of the day, he was almost the backup, there for when they needed that added burst of power.

 

Despite Arthur’s belief that Gilli would be neutralised if they could get the ring of him, Merlin wasn’t so sure. He didn’t need any of the team’s sophisticated technology to know that there was a sorcerer in the area. Whether it was because of the threat they posed to him directly, but Merlin could just sense that there was evil magic in the air. He had never heard of an object that could feel evil as such, it was normally the magic directing it that provided the feeling. Gilli was no as innocent as the file had made out, and Merlin found that he was more on edge walking through these dark streets than he had ever been before. Usually, instinct screamed at him to get away from sorcerers, knowing they would do worse than kill him if they found him, and yet here he was, directly attempting to find one.

 

Merlin suddenly stopped, listening hard as he did so. For a moment, he was sure that his ears had deceived him, but when the noise came again, Merlin knew that he could hear someone crying, only a few paces in front of him. His hand drifted up towards his comms, preparing to tell Arthur, but then he stopped. What if no one was there, or it was just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time, Arthur had made a point when he said that this town was a rough one. He didn’t want the others to realise just how jumpy he was, so let his hand drop again.

  
“Hello?” Taking a few steps closer, Merlin ignored the pulsing warning of his magic and rounded the bins that he was sure was blocking the view of whoever it was. Sure enough, a boy around his age was soon revealed, even if the youngster did jolt back violently at seeing Merlin there.

  
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you…” Trying to sound as soothing as possible, Merlin lifted his hands to show that he was unarmed. The boy uncurled himself slightly, and Merlin caught a glimpse of the ring on his left hand. This time, he listened to the warning of his magic and found his mind racing as to how he could alert the rest of the team without Gilli realising what he had done.

 

“Why don’t you come out from behind the bins now?”

 

“I didn’t want to hurt them, they attacked me, please…”  
  
“Hey, it’s alright. I won’t hurt you.” Merlin found that he was lowering his hands, dropping his defences as he coaxed Gilli out of his hiding place. Maybe the team had got this one wrong just as they had been wrong about him? But that didn’t explain why it was taking every ounce of his new self-control to hold his magic back.

 

“Too bad.” Gilli suddenly sprang to his feet far quicker than Merlin saw coming. Even in the darkened light of the street as he stumbled back, he saw the way the boy’s eyes flickered towards his ring, and the way that there almost seemed to be a transfer of power.

  
“Warlock, drop!” Merlin followed Arthur’s instructions without hesitating, dropping to the floor even as Gilli’s eyes pulsed with power. The beam of magic that would have struck Merlin shot straight over his head and caused one of the bins to practically explode with a loud bang. Slightly dazed by the turn of events, Merlin stayed where he was, acutely aware that Arthur was running towards him from one side of the street and Gwaine was coming in from the other end. No doubt the rest of the team were on their way now that their target had been located. Gilli, however, threw himself forward, heading straight for Merlin as he did so.

 

Just before he made contact, Arthur seemed to just materialise out of the darkness. He ended up behind Gilli, hooking his hands under the boy’s shoulders and hauling him back, sending them both crashing as he did so. Merlin sat up shakily as Arthur grunted, locking his arms around Gilli’s chest. Not completely sure what he should do, Merlin began to climb to his feet as Arthur’s legs wrapped around the sorcerer’s, effectively trapping him.

 

Before Merlin had to make a decision, Gwaine had caught up with them. He grabbed Gilli’s left arm, yanking it out straight and then beginning to prise his fingers open. The boy had scrunched up his fist to clearly stop them from taking the ring and Gwaine was struggling to get him to open it again. Knowing that this was something he could help with, Merlin let his eyes glow for a split second and Gilli swore as his hand shot open. Without hesitating, Gwaine wrenched the ring off his finger and fell back, panting. Gilli seemed to go limp as he did so, and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, beginning to ease the pair of them apart again. He left Gilli lying on the floor, looking stunned, as he climbed to his feet.

  
“W-what happened?” Gilli whispered, fear in his voice as he began to sit up. Arthur and Gwaine exchanged some rapid hand gestures, but Merlin found that he was frowning in confusion. Something didn’t feel right here.   
  
“W-where am I? Who are you?”

  
“It’s okay,” Arthur soothed, taking a step towards him and helping Gilli to his feet. “You’re safe now. You seem to have managed to get your hands on something that you shouldn’t have, and it possessed you. It’s gone now, you’re okay…”

  
“Prince.” Merlin knew that he shouldn’t have been surprised when Arthur just ignored the warning note in his voice, but still growled in frustration. Something about this didn’t seem right, and Merlin didn’t even notice the quizzical look that Gwaine sent him. All of his attention was locked on Gilli and the way that the boy seemed to sag against Arthur.

 

“Where do you live, can you remember?”

 

“Prince.”

 

“Sir!” Gwaine turned just in time to witness what Merlin had been trying to warn against. How he had done it, Merlin had no idea, but Gilli had somehow got the upper hand over Arthur. He kicked the commander’s knees out from under him, causing Arthur to drop. Bending his arm up behind his back, he placed his thumb and forefinger almost gently around Arthur’s windpipe. Gwaine made to take a step forward, but Merlin shook his head.

  
“Don’t!” He practically yelled, his eyes locked on Gilli’s hand. He could almost feel the magic in the air, and knew that the boy would be able to kill Arthur with just a thought. Judging by the way Arthur had fallen still, his free arm clenching by his side, he knew it too.

  
“Good advice, warlock. Behind the bins, fetch me my bag.” Merlin swallowed, glancing towards Arthur. The commander gave the slightest nod of his head and Merlin did as he was told. As he moved the bag, he caught a glimpse of the knife resting inside and felt his heart pound as his magic tingled uncomfortably. He still moved back to his previous position however.

 

“I think you know how this goes. You know what to do. It’s my knife, meaning the power still comes to me. Don’t, and I kill your precious leader right here, in some forsaken back alley of Camelot.”

 

Merlin slowly drew out the knife, almost feeling the way his scars suddenly itched, as if they knew what was coming. He pretended that he was doing as he was told, placing the edge of the knife against his arm and pulled his face into a grimace. He knew that he couldn’t delay too long. If Gilli realised that he was being played, he would be able to destroy Arthur’s airways just be releasing the magic that was already sparking on his fingertips. However, Merlin met Arthur’s eyes, trying to tell the commander what he needed him to do rather than letting himself panic at what was going on. Arthur frowned, reading his face intently before blinking. It was enough for Merlin to know that he had understood the message.

 

He raised the knife higher, slowly bringing it down towards his arm again. Before it touched, however, he nodded at Arthur. Rather than struggling against Gilli’s grip, Arthur rocked back into it. The removal of the tension meant that he was able to pull himself forward, landing flat out on the floor and breaking Gilli’s grip over him as he did so. At exactly the same time, Merlin dropped the knife and his hand shot out. Gilli looked as if he was going to smirk, clearly sure that he was protected.

 

But although Merlin could feel the shields that the young man had clearly placed around himself, it was as if they weren’t there. Merlin’s magic simply ripped straight through them as if he was brushing a curtain aside, causing a loud sparking noise to fill the air as he did so. Gilli had a split second to look surprised before he was blasted back off his feet, landing with a thud halfway down the road even as Elyan sped onto the scene.

 

Arthur sat up, twisting around to look at Gilli as Elyan hurried over and checked the man’s pulse. He glanced up and gave a curt nod before snapping the magical bands that Merlin knew so well around his ankles, restraining any magic that might still be active.

  
“Just out cold. Knight 5 is on the way. Nice throw, Warlock.”  
  


“I would have thrown the knife at him,” Gwaine muttered, but he had a grin on his face and a teasing sparkly in his eye as he helped Arthur up.

 

“Then it would have rebounded and shot straight back at whoever threw it.” Merlin muttered, finding that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Gilli.

 

“You can tell that?”

  
“I could feel it.” Merlin blinked, suddenly leaning against the wall with a long sigh, running his hand through his hair as Lancelot and Leon appeared at the same time from opposite ends of the street. Lancelot grinned when he realised that their mission was complete. Without a word, the soldiers hauled Gilli up and started to walk towards where Percival would appear.  
  
“That wasn’t the reason why you didn’t throw the knife, was it?” Arthur asked quietly, and Merlin shrugged. In their six months together, he had come to realise that he really couldn’t lie to Arthur.

 

“It was true about the shields.”

  
“Considering how you just ripped through his, I don’t doubt that you would have made sure the knife didn’t rebound. Like I said, that wasn’t the reason, was it?” Merlin rolled his head so that he was staring Arthur directly in the eye, determined not to back down on this point in the slightest.

  
“I told you that I won’t use my magic to kill someone. I have to be better than that, better than them. I knew that I could get you free with just knocking him out, so that’s what I did.”  
  


“What if it hadn’t been enough?” Arthur muttered, holding Merlin’s gaze for a long moment before turning away and even taking a step away from the wall as he did so. “Would you have killed him?”

 

“To save your life? Yes.” Although he didn’t want to admit to it, Merlin knew that he wouldn’t have hesitated. If the only way to save Arthur had been to kill Gilli, he would have done it in a heartbeat. Arthur nodded softly before clearing his throat and clapping Merlin on the shoulder.

  
“You did well out here, you know.”

 

“You mean apart from getting you caught?” Arthur shrugged, a teasing grin on his face.

 

“You should see what happened to Gwaine the first time that I ran an op.” Merlin smiled, feeling the awkward tension between the two of them lift. Certain questions had to be asked, but now that they had done so, the matter was put to rest. Arthur let his hand stop on Merlin’s shoulder again, giving it a small squeeze even as they caught sight of headlights at the end of the road and Gwaine’s annoyed voice echoed back through the comms.

 

“Come on,” Arthur murmured, beginning to steer Merlin down the road even as he spoke. “Let’s go home.”

 

Glancing down the dark road and feeling the way the threatening magic he had felt on arrival seemed to fade from existence, Merlin gave a small smile.

 

“Let’s.”

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is late guys, I was away!

Merlin sat on the edge of Arthur’s – their – bed and twirled Gilli’s ring between his fingers, completely lost in thought. He had his feet propped up on an old box that he had found in the corner of the room and decided that it was the perfect height for a footrest and his hair still sticking up at odd angles from where he had showered. In a way, he hoped that Arthur wasn’t about to walk in considering he was only half dressed, not yet having found the energy to cross the room to get a shirt. He knew that the commander would take full advantage of that situation, especially considering they were all so pumped up on adrenaline still. But Merlin wasn’t in the mood, his mind was focused on the young sorcerer that he had just helped to capture.

 

When they had reached the cells, Merlin had shrunk into the corner of the van to make sure that he couldn’t be seen as Gilli was handed over to two men waiting outside. He had a feeling that the team never entered the building unless they had a very good reason – such as saving warlocks. But it did make a thought flicker across Merlin’s mind in regards to his own rescue. The more he came to learn about the Round Table, the more that he realised just how much they had risked coming in to save him. Luckily, no one said anything about the clear fact that he was hiding, although Arthur did shoot him a reassuring smile. The cells had been the thing that had destroyed everything for Merlin, not his initial capture. He had no desire to look at them.

 

But it wasn’t the cells he was thinking about now. It was more the way Gilli had seemed so young and innocent. Merlin had seen his face before Arthur and Gwaine had arrived. The tears might have been fake in order to draw Merlin in, but there was a sense of genuine fear lurking in his eyes, he didn’t seem to know what he was doing. Yet despite that vulnerability, he had still gone for Merlin. The warlock knew that no traitor was needed in order for Gilli to know what he was. Just as his magic had sensed the sorcerer’s, Gilli would have been able to sense his. The second the boy had realised just how much magic Merlin had, and what that could potentially mean for him if he could harness it, he had attacked without warning.

 

Letting out a long breath, Merlin dragged his free hand through his hair and pressed the heel of his palm against his eye. Just as with the crystals that Darg had used, the others had allowed him to keep the ring. Now that they were using magic themselves, Arthur had decided that they were best to build up their own collection of magic items rather than having to rely on what he could steal from his father, such as the cuffs. If Merlin could work out how they were used, the way that they respond to magic, then they could perhaps give them a use. But for now, it meant that they stayed out of the traitor’s hands, something that everyone was determined about.

 

His thoughts moving from Gilli to the traitor, Merlin felt his heart pound uncomfortably. He knew that the team were worried about it, and he couldn’t blame them, they were being betrayed by someone that they thought they could trust. But if he was completely honest, he was more worried about himself. Someone was feeding the Resistance information about him. It had already got Will killed, and Merlin knew that if even a hint of his whereabouts, he wouldn’t stand a chance. He would be forced to join them, or cut to pieces whilst they all took a piece of his magic. The thought made him shudder so much that he didn’t hear the door open and Arthur slip in until there was a familiar dip of weight on the bed and a hand resting in between the middle of his shoulder blades.

  
“You okay?” A soft voice whispered, and not for the first time did Merlin find himself wildly wondering how someone that was such a ferocious commander could be such a gentle lover. He automatically leant back on Arthur, letting the older man take his weight.

  
“I don’t know.” He murmured, glancing down to where the ring was still being rolled between his fingers.

 

“The first one is always the worst,” Arthur said gently, letting one of his own circle around Merlin and rest over his hand. “Knowing that you have just taken away someone’s freedom, regardless of what they have done, knowing that you have just turned their world upside down… no one teaches you how to deal with that.”

  
“How did you?” Merlin asked, curious as he craned his head back so that he could get a look at Arthur’s face. It wasn’t the capture that was the main problem for him, but he found that he was interested in knowing what Arthur did when he couldn’t cope. The man always seemed to be in control, even when it was the day that he was supposed to be dying each month, the idea that he lost it now and again was intriguing.

  
“Normally, I run, as if I can outrun anything and everything that is troubling me. But my very first time, I was set loose on a punching bag. Tore a muscle in my arm but was so pumped full of adrenaline I didn’t notice. I’ll never forget the look on Gwaine’s face when he turned up for his normal session, nor how fast he seemed to run to get Gaius.” Arthur ended with a fond chuckle, clearly finding something in the memory that made him smile.

  
“Do you want to go to the training room?” Merlin, however, shook his head. His hands were picking idly at his jeans as he thought about what it was he was trying to say. He didn’t know whether it was because of what had just happened, or whether it was things that had been floating in his mind for a while now and Gilli had just brought them to the surface. With Arthur coming clean about how he had dealt with it, Merlin knew that he had to at least try and word what was going through his head.

 

“It’s not Gilli that is the problem as such. He would have killed me if he had the chance. Hell, he did have the chance, it was just lucky that you guys were there. It’s just…am I ever going to meet anyone with magic that isn’t a threat to me? Or are they all going to want to tear me apart?”  
  
“Merlin, love…” Arthur paused. Merlin sighed, shaking his head but continuing to lean back on Arthur to show that there were no hard feelings. The man’s knowledge of magic was almost pitiful considering what he did for a living, and Merlin wasn’t at all surprised that the commander didn’t know the answer to Merlin’s question.

  
“Face it, no one is like me.” He mumbled. The hand holding the ring was now enclosed by Arthur’s, but Merlin let his free hand come to rest over the commander’s, playing with Arthur’s fingers. He felt Arthur’s fingers slip into his, take the ring and place it over to one side. It was a magical object at the end of the day, and they weren’t sure what it could do. Having Merlin hold it when he was feeling like this was just asking for trouble.

  
“Are witches the same as warlocks?” The question was so random, so out of the blue that Merlin had no choice but to straighten up, twisting in order to face Arthur. It was hard to look confused when he was fighting back a small at the way that Arthur instantly wrapped an arm around his waist and had his hand splayed across the small of Merlin’s back, stopping him from falling off the bed. As always, the feeling of Arthur’s hand against his skin sent shivers down Merlin’s spine, but for once, he forced himself to ignore it.

  
“What?”  
  
“Witches. Is their power the same as a warlock, or the same as a sorcerer.”  
  
“Same as a warlock, I think.” Merlin mumbled, his brow furrowed as he tried to remember what Kilgharrah had told him. The old man might have been an evil tempered dragon at the best of times, but he had helped to guide Merlin through one of the hardest stages of his life, and for that, Merlin would be forever grateful.

 

“I’m not sure what their powers are, but they don’t need to hurt – or kill – to obtain their magic. Why do you ask? Do you know one?”

  
Arthur gave a small laugh that sounded so sad even to Merlin’s ears that he found himself raising a hand and cupping the blond’s cheek, his thumb caressing the skin slightly.

 

“Arthur?”  
  


“I know two. One of whom I am related to.” This time, Merlin knew it was only because of Arthur’s hand on his back that stopped him from falling off the bed.

  
“Wha-? But… you…”

  
“It’s partly why my father hates magic so much. He always had, but since Morgana…”

  
“Arthur? Start at the beginning.” Merlin climbed off the bed, walked around it and got back on again, settling himself at the other end where he could lean against the pillows and the wall. He wondered whether Arthur had truly spoken about this. By the look on his face, it was something that everyone knew had happened, yet no one had stopped to ask the commander how he was feeling about it. Arthur had looked after him enough, Merlin thought that it was time to repay the favour.

 

“We grew up together.” Arthur’s voice was soft and low, and Merlin could tell in just those few words that the commander was not comfortable with talking about this. Merlin wouldn’t push him, yet Arthur didn’t stop.

 

“I didn’t know she was my sister, well, half-sister until relatively recently. I think I was the only boy in the barracks that didn’t fancy her, she had them all wrapped around her little finger. They would do anything to have a good word put in with both her and my father, meaning that you could say I reaped the benefits from the attention. She was just Morgana to me, the girl that had my father at her beck and call. He doted on her.”

 

Arthur broke off, his eyes gaining a faraway expression as he stared at something above Merlin’s head. The warlock didn’t need to look to know that nothing was there. Arthur wasn’t seeing anything in this room, but something far away, possibly even many years ago.

  
“Then she found out that she had magic. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, although I do have my suspicions. She didn’t tell us, she didn’t tell me. She clearly thought that she couldn’t trust me. If she had just explained, told me what was going on… It was only when we found you do I even know that warlocks and witches existed, I was taught that everyone had to kill for their magic. Why else do you think I hated it so much, I saw them all as murderers…”

 

“Arthur. You were talking about Morgana.” Merlin gently prompted, knowing how worked up Arthur could get when he began talking about magic. Merlin couldn’t blame him, the man had been lied to his whole life and found that everything right he thought he was doing potentially wasn’t as straight forward as he believed. But right now, that was not the issue.

  
“Right, sorry. So yeah, she found out that she had magic and somehow got to know Morgause. She was a witch as well, although I didn’t know that on my first meeting with her. Morgause told her that we were the evil ones, something I couldn’t exactly deny considering my job. But they never gave me the chance to accept them for who they were. I think I would have done, you know. There was a series of accidents within the army until eventually, one man died. Through investigations, it was revealed that Morgana and Morgause were the ones behind it. I found out that she was my half-sister when they had taken my father prisoner in order to try and get control of the army in order to let it lose on the town.”

 

Arthur stopped again, but Merlin could see the pain clouding his vision. Realising that this must be bordering on how he ended up cursed, Merlin scooted forward, taking Arthur’s hand in his own. The gesture was so simple, so natural, yet Arthur jumped. He glanced down at their entwined fingers and softly smiled. Gripping on, he continued.

 

“I managed to get my father out by doing a deal. They could have me instead. Morgause accepted it, I think she saw the heartbreak on my father’s face that he would lose both his children to magic – one killed by it and the other corrupted. I don’t know where they took me, I was blindfolded and bound. My attempt to talk Morgana round backfired when she gagged me, I…I was completely helpless. Yet I don’t regret it.”

 

“Then Morgause cursed me. I’ve never felt pain like it, it was like every fibre of my being was screaming at me. I was vaguely aware of being moved again, but it was like I had lost track of everything that was happening. I must have blacked out, for the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital infirmary with Gaius bending over me, looking concerned. He saved my life that day, and continues to do so every month.”

  
“Why did they let you go, surely they would have known that there was a chance you would be saved?”  
  
“Morgause probably wanted my father to see it. I stole the security footage of the infirmary afterwards, and Merlin, I was screaming. I don’t remember any of it, but it must have been hell to watch. That would have destroyed my father than just knowing I was dead. He couldn’t convince himself it was a quick and painless death after seeing me like that. After that, I accepted my duties as the Round Table commander, determined that it wouldn’t happen to anyone else.”

 

A heavy silence hung between them, and more than ever, Merlin felt like he truly understood Arthur. No one could go through that and not have some resentment of magic. Considering at the time he had truly believed that the only way to get magic was to hurt someone, then Merlin knew if that was what he had been faced with, he would have made the same choices. Arthur must surely have believed that he was doing the right thing, or he wouldn’t have done it. Remembering the gleam in Gilli’s eyes as he leapt for Merlin, the warlock knew that the job had to be done. The sorcerers had to be stopped.

 

“So if a witch’s magic comes from the same source that a warlock’s does, then you could stop them?” Merlin had a feeling that Arthur had been working up to this ever since he had first asked about witches. Merlin bit his lip. He had never met a witch, but if they were like him, it was both a blessing and a curse. It would mean that he could get close without the threat of being torn to absolute shreds, but it would also mean that their magic would rival his. He had only been able to stop Gilli because he was stronger. Voicing his thoughts out loud, Merlin knew for sure he had been right in his assumptions about Arthur’s thoughts. The commander’s face fell faster than lightening and for a split second, he looked nothing short of vulnerable. But then he hitched a neutral expression back into place almost instantly, leaving Merlin in doubt whether he had seen the other or not.

 

“But what if you could get closer? We’ve got the crystals, right? We could use them in order to get you closer?”

 

“They’d know it was me.” Merlin explained patiently, getting the feeling that this was an argument that Arthur was not going to simply back down. “Well, maybe not _me_ as such, depends how much that traitor of yours has given away. But they would know it was a warlock just the way that I’d be able to sense that they were witches, not sorceress’.”

 

“Yet you would be able to take them if you can get near them, right?” Arthur pressed, and Merlin wondered whether he had even been listening to anything that Merlin had just said.

  
“I don’t _know,_ Arthur. They’ll be strong, and more trained than I am. Not to mention that there are two of them. You are the commander, you figure it out.”

 

There was a silence between the two of them for a few moments, and Merlin sat back again. He couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed. He knew that he was needed on the team for his magic, but the way that Arthur was talking now, it made him sound like he was nothing but a tool, some sort of weapon for them to yield.

 

“I think it can be done.”

  
“ _What?!_ Arthur, are you mad? They would tear me apart! Glad to know that is how you feel about me.”

  
“You know how I feel about you, _Mer_ lin…”  
  
“Do I? As right now, all I’m hearing is that you want me to go and clean up the mess that you and your damn army created.”

 

“You’re the only one that has a chance. If you can get close, then the Resistance can be stopped and…”  
  


“And what, Arthur? What will happen if we stop the Resistance?” Merlin didn’t like the way that Arthur suddenly froze, watching him closely.

  
“Do you know what the Resistance does, Merlin?” He asked softly, his voice gentle. Merlin glared at him. He had been quite prepared to carry on this argument heatedly, but when Arthur changed tone like that, he had no choice but to back down slightly. His silence seemed to answer the commander’s question for him and Arthur sighed, running his hand over his eyes. When it dropped again, Merlin felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Arthur looked so _tired._ He fought against sorcerers who wanted him dead on a daily occurrence, and then battled against a curse that was still attempting to claim his life each month. Merlin wondered whether he would truly understand what went through Arthur’s head.

 

“They want to take over the country, reverse the positions. Make it those with magic in control. Don’t look at me like that, I’m not saying I’m against that as such, just the way that they plan to do it. There have been disappearances happening all over Camelot, things we have kept out of the papers so people don’t panic. It is said that there is something magical about creating a life, and taking one releases that magic back into the air. You know better than most how a sorcerer gains their power.”

 

“Arthur….” Arthur sounded calm, too calm, for Merlin to like the sound of where this conversation was going.  
  


“They don’t even have to have magic themselves to start with. Just a magical item that has been cursed by another sorcerer. That is enough to harness the energy. Then they kill. And with every kill, their power grows stronger. Gilli must have still been weak if he was using his ring.” Merlin paled, the casual way that Arthur was talking about this making it seem far scarier than any other way he had heard it worded. Arthur wasn’t looking at him, but instead staring at something on the wall again.

 

“The Resistance are behind the disappearances. They’ve been murdering people all over the place in order to increase their power. I had Morgause gloating when she was trying to kill me. Once they have enough power, they are going to overthrow the government. They’ll keep people like me alive, those with no magic. She even talked about a breeding programme to keep the population going. But they’ll keep us alive to be killed at their pleasure, whenever they want a quick top-me-up of magic.”

 

“Arthur, stop.” Merlin wasn’t sure how he got his voice to work, but somehow, he managed to speak. He wasn’t sure whether he could be able to control his stomach if Arthur continued, nor was he certain whether he could take much more of hearing this. He had truly though that it was just those with magic banding together, for protection almost against people like Arthur. He hadn’t appreciated that they were actively attempting to turn the tables. Luckily, Arthur seemed to see the paleness to his face and stopped talking about what the Resistance were doing. Unfortunately, however, he didn’t seem to be prepared to stop talking altogether.

  
“That’s why we have to stop them, Merlin. It’s why we have to do something before even more people get hurt. Aredian’s team have been trying to find a pattern to their victims, see if we can work out where they are going to strike next and be there in order to bring them in. But so far, no luck. With you, however…”

 

“Arthur, they’ll kill me.”

  
“I think that every sorcerer that you meet wants to kill you. And if word spreads that there is a warlock in town, they’ll try harder.” Merlin frowned, thinking back on everything they had said so far.

  
“If witches power is the same as mine, then how come the sorcerers aren’t trying to kill Morgana and Morgause?”

 

“They’ve pledged allegiance. Besides, those two are feeding their craving for more magic, they have no need to. With the future that Morgana is promising them, why would they turn on the person that they see as being the one to liberate them?” Merlin bit his tongue. It was his turn to avoid eye contact this time as he glanced down at where his hands were twisting slightly in his lap.

  
“You’ve said yourself that we have saved you more than once. If you help us, we’ll be even.” Merlin’s head shot up so fast that it hurt and he scrambled off the bed. He stood there, hands balled into tight fists by his side and watching Arthur shrewdly, unable to believe what he had just heard.

 

“You say that you care for me and then say something like that?!”  
  
“I didn’t mean it like that, Merlin. But we can stop it from happening to anyone else if you just help us bring them down.” Arthur stood up slowly, watching Merlin’s expression in caution. He clearly could see and understand that he was treading a thin line right now, and with Merlin’s magic under his control now more than ever, he couldn’t be sure whether Merlin would lash out at him.

  
“You only saved me because you screwed up my life.” Arthur was right to be on his guard, Merlin could feel the magic bubbling just under the surface, angry and feeling betrayed.

 

“If you help us, Merlin…” Arthur took a step forward, and the warlock had a feeling he wasn’t about to like what was going to come out of Arthur’s mouth. He had a very strong feeling that it would back him into a corner. “Then you’ll be able to get close to the ones who killed Will. You’ll be able to get revenge.”

 

It was as if someone had taken a plug out of his magic, for it instantly drained away. Merlin felt hollow and empty as he slowly sank back down onto the bed, running a hand through his hair. Over six months had passed, and yet he had done nothing to avenge what had happened to his friend. Arthur knew how much that bothered him, and seemed to know the affect his words would have had on the warlock. He knew that Merlin wouldn’t be able to resist that.

  
“You won’t make me go in there alone, will you?” Merlin whispered, sounding incredibly young. He looked up as Arthur came to sit on the bed next to him, automatically sinking into his embrace as the commander draped an arm around his shoulders.

  
“Wouldn’t dream of it. You’ll actually help us go against them?”

  
“I’m part of this team, aren’t I?” Arthur laughed softly, kissing the side of his head and pulling Merlin closer.

  
“Yes, you are.” Silence fell again, but unlike before, Merlin was acutely aware of just how comfortable this one was as he let Arthur take his weight.

  
“Arthur?”

  
“Mm?”

  
“How do you feel about me?” Merlin kept his eyes on the floor, steadily feeling the back of his neck changing colour as he waited for Arthur’s answer. Deep down, he knew, they had been implying it for the last six months. But considering he had just agreed to effectively fight Arthur’s battles for him, he felt like he had the right to know. Arthur chuckled, placing a hand under Merlin’s chin in order to tilt his head, and kissed him deeply.

  
“Does that answer it?” He murmured after finally pulling back, but Merlin shook his head, a cheeky grin on his face. It might not quite meet his eyes in the usual manner, but it was enough for now. Arthur groaned.

  
“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

  
“I agreed to fight a witch for you, the very least you can do is say it.” Merlin teased lightly, making sure that there was no bitterness in his voice that would set Arthur off again. This had been the closest that they had got for over six months to having a full blown argument, and Merlin wasn’t sure how his magic would react to it. If he was honest, he didn’t _want_ to know.

 

“I lo-like you. A lot.”

  
“Nope, not good enough.” Merlin murmured, turning so that he was pressed against Arthur’s side. He slowly began kissing the man’s neck, letting his hands wonder where they liked. By Arthur’s hitch of breath, Merlin knew his hands were just following his mind.

  
“I really like you?”

 

“Nope.”  
  


“I really really like you?”

 

“Damn, Arthur, is it that hard to say?” Merlin muttered, pulling away and staring at the man in incredulity. Arthur squirmed under his gaze and went a brilliant shade of red. Merlin rolled his eyes.

  
“Say it after me… I,”

 

“Merlin, this is silly.”

  
“I.” Merlin prompted, keeping his hand where it was. He pointedly looked down, and Arthur followed his gaze, seeming to realise what would happen – or not happen – if he didn’t comply.

  
“I.” He finally muttered, mock-glaring at Merlin as he did so.

 

“Love.”  
  
“Love.” Merlin felt an insanely wide grin spread over his face as Arthur parroted back his words.

  
“You.”

 

“You.” Finally having got his way, Merlin surged forward, claiming Arthur’s lips in his own. When he finally pulled back, panting with the grin still in place, he frowned in slight suspicion at the look on Arthur’s.

  
“What?”

 

“Gwaine owes me.”

 

“Excuse me?”

  
“We had a bet that you would say it first.” Arthur responded with a grin on his face. Merlin sat back even further, punching Arthur lightly on the arm.  
  
“I didn’t.”

  
“You did.” Merlin let out a whine at Arthur’s words and slid off the bed with a roll of his eyes. Even so, he couldn’t get the grin off his face.  
  
“Shall we go and tell them the happy news then?”

  
“What? That I love you? I think they’ve already figured that one out.” Arthur looked so adorably confused that Merlin just had to lean back over and kiss him. Inwardly, however, he was glowing. Arthur had said it twice now, and the second time was with such ease that Merlin knew it was the truth. He could feel his magic humming in happiness, slipping out from him and coiling around Arthur. Judging by the satisfied look in the commander’s own eyes, he could not only feel it, but he was welcoming it as well.

  
“No, you numpty, that we are going after Morgana.”

 

“Oh!” Arthur slid off the bed, the blush once more back in place as he crossed the room and joined Merlin, taking the younger man’s hand in his own before making to open the door. Merlin, however, stopped him.

 

“I do as well, you know.” He murmured, reaching out and running a finger along Arthur’s jaw. As the commander frowned, Merlin smiled. “Love you.”

 

Arthur’s smile turned into a full blown grin and he pulled back from the door, wrapping his arm around Merlin’s waist and pulling the warlock up against him.

  
“Can we tell them later?” He whispered, already beginning to kiss the teenager. Merlin sagged against him, immediately kissing him back.

  
“I was hoping you would say that. Too many clothes, Arthur, move…” he whined, hands already beginning to tug at Arthur’s shirt. After all, if he wasn’t wearing one, then neither should the commander. And if his own jeans happen to suddenly slide down and pool at his ankles as his magic floated between them, then it was only fair that Arthur’s went the same way.


	22. Chapter 22

Merlin pushed open the bedroom door, trying not to laugh as Arthur’s hands skittered across his ribs, tickling him lightly. He batted them away, only to be spun around and kissed, his back pressed against the door. Almost immediately, he melted into it, hating the fact that self control seemed to just disappear whenever he was around the commander. Before he knew what he was doing, his hands had risen and begun to snake into Arthur’s hair, and the damn bastard was smirking like he knew how little control the teenager had right now. Feeling the smirk, Merlin dropped one hand, rested it against Arthur’s chest and gave him a firm push away, yet was still unable to stop his eyes from raking over Arthur’s topless form in appreciation. Over six months later, and he could still simply stand there and _look._

_“_ You’re devouring me with your eyes again.” Quite when Arthur had moved, Merlin had no idea, but he suddenly found himself back in the man’s arms. Not that he minded, however, he would have just quite liked some warning before Arthur’s presence made his knees go weak and his mind spin slightly.  
  
“Not my fault.” He whispered, letting his hand run down the side of Arthur’s face before once again making sure that there was a distance between them. “We’re supposed to be telling them about your new great plan to go after Morgana.”

  
“It can wait another hour…” Arthur murmured, moving closer again. It was obvious that since he had admitted how he truly felt, Arthur was intending to act on those feelings as often as he could

  
“You said that an hour ago. And the hour before that… And you don’t even want to know what you said when it came to getting in the shower.” Merlin found that his voice was teasing and light, and with knowing that he had truly helped them in regards to catching Gilli rather than just being a spare part, he couldn’t stop the smile from resting on his face contently. Maybe this was where he truly belonged, maybe this was what he had spent his whole life waiting for. As Arthur ducked his head and kissed the base of his throat, Merlin felt his smile turn into a full blown grin. Maybe this was _who_ he had been waiting for. Despite trying to be the one to think rationally, Merlin hooked his thumbs into Arthur’s belt loops and pulled him that extra step closer.

 

“They need to know, Arthur.” Considering what the commander was doing, Merlin had no idea how he managed to sound that authoritative. What came as an even greater surprise, however, was when Arthur backed off, actually looking like he was accepting what Merlin was saying. Normally, he just laughed at him when Merlin tried to take control, and the warlock found that he rather liked the feeling. For the first time in his life, someone else was allowing him to take control of what he was doing rather than just being told what he could and couldn’t do.  
  
“Okay. But I’m dragging you back for a ravishing after we have done so.” Merlin rolled his eyes, finally managing to get the door open even if he could feel the tickle of Arthur’s breath on the back of his neck. At the same time, he couldn’t exactly bring himself to argue with Arthur’s plan, and part of his mind wondered whether they would even be able to get through talking to the others without getting completely distracted. It had taken long enough for them to get showered and get jeans on –even if that had taken more than one attempt -, neither had had the inclination to go for shirts as well. Merlin did find it ironic that the rule Gwaine had been telling him about when it came to Arthur and wearing shirts in the flat seemed to have disappeared completely since he had arrived.

 

The rest of the team almost simultaneously looked around as they finally stumbled from the bedroom. It was clear from their positions that they had been sitting there for a while, and judging by the look on their faces, their time hadn’t been quite as enjoyable as Merlin’s had been. All of them looked serious, even Gwen from where she was leaning against Lancelot. But it was more than that, it was as if the very air felt heavy, almost like something was pressing down on them. Merlin shook his head ever so slightly, wondering if he was perhaps just imagining things.

  
“Um, Arthur…” Merlin began, attempting to try and tell them about what the commander had decided about their new plan. Even after all of this time, there was something unnerving about seeing them sitting there like that – it was a powerful reminder of the fact that they were a military unit, one that he was now part of. But Arthur knew his men better than Merlin, and knew that something was wrong. Now was not the time to tell them about Morgana.

  
“What is it?” He asked, his tone leaving no room for arguments as he moved across the lounge, pulling Merlin with him and sinking into his normal chair, leaving the warlock balanced on the edge. His posture was tense and rigid, a clear sign that he knew something was wrong.

  
“We may have a problem.” Elyan finally muttered after looks had darted between them all. Clearly, no one wanted to be the one that had to break the bad news, and Merlin found himself swallowing hard as the weapons master’s eyes flickered towards him as he spoke. Arthur caught the look and glanced towards Merlin as well before looking back at Elyan.

  
“What?” Arthur didn’t sound as concerned as Merlin was feeling, yet the warlock just assumed that was because he was used to putting on a brave front, no matter how hard his heart was pounding.

  
“How did Gilli know to be waiting for Merlin?” The tension left Arthur’s shoulders and he almost laughed. He didn’t quite lean back in the chair – he was too much of a commander for that – but something in his posture did seem to change.

  
“Good luck. He was clearly armed and sensed Merlin’s power when we got there, so then proceeded to attack.” Merlin couldn’t help but frown. Arthur didn’t seem to be worried, yet there was an undeniable tension in the room that made him feel like they had been discussing this for a while. Lancelot’s face showed that they had ruled out it being down to good fortune on Gilli’s behalf, and instead it was becoming something far darker, far sinister. Something, Merlin couldn’t help but feel, that had the potential to ruin the feeling of belonging that he had only just begun to enjoy properly.

  
“Are you sure it couldn’t be that he was waiting for us? That he would somehow know that Merlin was with us?”

 

“How the hell would he know that?” Arthur demanded. Merlin didn’t think it was possible for anyone to sit up any straighter than Arthur had been before, yet the commander proved him wrong again. Seeing the tension rippling across his shoulders, Merlin let his hand drift forward until it was resting on the bottom of the commander’s neck, his thumb moving in soft circular motions on the exposed skin there. Arthur didn’t relax as such, but something in him did seem to give and knowingly or not, he twisted until he was leaning into Merlin’s contact.  Merlin smiled slightly, wondering who used to take care of Arthur like this before he came along. Maybe Gwen, once, but it certainly explained why Arthur couldn’t seem to switch off from the job.

 

“There is a traitor in our midst, Sir.” Leon said quietly, his eyes narrowed in contemplation as he watched Arthur. At least, Merlin thought that he was watching Arthur until he realised that Leon was actually watching their interaction, a soft look in his eye. Merlin couldn’t explain it, but he felt like he almost had to get Leon’s approval. The man was obviously close to Arthur and clearly cared for him a great deal, almost in the way that an older brother would. There was clearly no way that Uther would ever approve of him – that was of course providing that he didn’t have him locked up for having magic – so Leon felt like the next best thing.

  
“But Gillli was new in town. Traitor or not, it still doesn’t explain how he would know that Merlin was coming. He might have been aware that the Round Table would be on his tail, Merlin here seemed to be the only one in this whole damn place that didn’t seem to realise that we would be coming after him. But why on earth would he think that a warlock would be with the team that is responsible for hunting down magic?”

  
“Because someone else knows and told him.” Leon stated. The way that the rest of the men were shifting uncomfortably made Merlin realise that whatever Arthur asked next, they would have an answer for that as well. They had been talking about this the whole time that the pair of them had been in the bedroom, and judging by the look on their faces, they had a pretty strong theory about what was going on.

 

“Who?”

 

“That we’re not sure. But come on, Arthur. The Resistance tracked Merlin back to his home address. Aggravaine must have been told that he was a warlock. One that just happened to break out of the cells almost hours after we brought him in. The state that those other two creeps were left in would have made it pretty obvious that he had helped from the outside. Who else knows about the cells? Meaning that although they might not have said it out loud, suspicion would have fallen on us.” Merlin felt the roof of his mouth go dry, yet he didn’t notice the way that his thumb had stopped moving on Arthur’s neck. Under his hand, the commander tensed yet again.

  
“But my father has been here, twice. Don’t you think that Aggravaine would have thought that he of all people would have realised that there was a warlock in the flat?”

  
“Aggravaine knows that you are good. He knows that you have no qualms about disobeying your father if it gets you what you want and after that last shouting match you had with him, I think he knows that you aren’t seeing magic in black and white anymore. He won’t even think about the fact that Uther has been here, he’ll know that you can outwit him.”

  
Arthur ignored the unintentional compliment that Gwaine had slipped into his words but instead just stared at the man. There was a silence across the room, almost as if everyone was holding their breath to see how Arthur reacted.

  
“You mean to say, you think Aggravaine knew he was with us all along.”  
  
“No,” Lancelot interrupted softly, his large brown eyes looking shadowed and sad. “We think that he suspected it. Otherwise we would have gone after and found Merlin by now, everyone knows that we are good at what we do. But now, after Gilli, he’ll know. For one, using _warlock_ as his code name was probably the most stupid thing that we could do. And two, Gilli would know for sure about his power. Meaning we’ve just delivered to the cells and to Aggravaine the one person who can say without a doubt that Merlin is with us.”  
  
“Fuck.” Arthur dropped forward, his head resting in his hands as he tried to process what was being said. Merlin had gone completely rigid, realising that everything could have potentially just been ruined by that one mission. Why hadn’t they thought about the fact that any sorcerer within a mile would have sensed that there was a warlock present? Even if the team could feign ignorance, claim that he wasn’t with them and that Gilli was lying, Merlin knew that questions would be raised about why the Round Table hadn’t realised themselves.

  
“So what do we do now?” Merlin whispered, hating the way that his voice was trembling slightly. If what was being said was true, it meant that he was in danger, not only from the army but from the Resistance as well. They could be after him right this moment, and there would be no hiding in the bathroom this time. Before anyone could say anything, Lancelot’s laptop beeped. He ignored it the first time, but when it consistently continued to do so, he finally crossed the room and lifted the lid.

 

“No, no, NO!” He cursed, slamming his fist down on the coffee table next to it and almost jolting the laptop off. As the men all exchanged confused glances, Gwen hurried over. She took his hand in hers, and the pair of them seemed to have an unspoken conversation going on as they looked at each other. Merlin didn’t know whether it was watching that which suddenly caused Arthur to once again lean back into his touch, but he did find that he was more grateful now that he had something to ground him and stop him from freaking out. Eventually, Gwen pulled away and glanced at the screen.

 

“Does a cartoon picture of the devil mean anything to you?” There was a sharp intake of breath, and Merlin found himself completely unnerved by the fact that even Percival looked worried. Gwaine might be the easy going one of the team, but Merlin had witnessed him scared and vulnerable before. Lancelot’s emotions seemed to be on his sleeve, Elyan had very expressive eyes and Leon couldn’t hide the way that his eyes roamed around the men as if he was constantly watching over them. Percival, however, seemed to be almost carved from stone. Not in an unpleasant way, his eyes were always soft and kind, yet he just didn’t truly give away how he was feeling. Right now, however, he looked completely unnerved.

 

“What?” Merlin cried, unable to take the tension that had just increased tenfold. “What does it mean?”

  
“It means…” Arthur’s hands were gripped into tight fists by his side and he looked nothing short of terrified. “That Aredian is on his way here.”  
  
For a moment, nothing happened. There was a completely stunned silence as Merlin tried to process what that would mean. Judging by their reactions and how Lancelot had illustrated the man as the devil, he knew that it was nothing good. He had also heard rumours about the witch catcher, how the man’s methods were infamous amongst sorcerers and he was the most hated man within the army. But considering that Arthur and his team looked just as worried as Merlin was feeling, he knew that it was not good.

  
“Right…” Arthur suddenly snapped himself out of the almost horrified trance and quickly became business like. “Merlin, get in the bedroom. Grab the bag that is by the floor, pack your things. Elyan, find something discreet to arm him with, but do not let him get noticed. Lancelot, I need to know where all of his damn team is and therefore a route out that is safe. Leon, Percival, head downstairs, I want to make sure that we have visuals on them rather than just relying on technology, you know what he is like. Gwaine… start thinking of ways that we can stall…”

 

The team jumped into action immediately, all apart from Merlin, who just stood there like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Arthur leapt to his feet, grabbed the youth by the arm and pulled him across to the bedroom again, urgency within his very movements.

 

“You have to go. You have to get away from here, far away until you are somewhere safe. Aredian will be on your tail, he never lets anything go. But we can get you out, give you enough of a head start, you’ll be fine. Remember all your training, but keep your magic hidden until you have no choice.”

 

“But…” Merlin could only watch as Arthur moved around the room almost gracefully, stuffing everything that he could see of Merlin’s into the small bag with army-like precision. Yet for Merlin, it was like watching him in slow motion.

  
“Make sure that you stay somewhere safe at night, don’t stay out in the open or in busy places if you can help it, his team is good at infiltration.”

  
“Arthur…”  
  
“But once you get past the border, head for Mercia. It should be safer there…”  
  
“Arthur, stop!” Merlin eventually yelled, ignoring the way that tears were stinging his eyes. Arthur snapped his mouth shut and looked over, immediately walking towards Merlin and pulling him into his arms. Merlin let one hand rest on Arthur’s bare chest, feeling the reassuring thud of his heartbeat.

  
“I’m not leaving you…”  
  
“You have to, Merlin. If he catches you, he’ll lock you up, and I don’t mean in the nice roomy cells that you saw before. And if Aggravaine knows that you are there, he’ll hand you over to the Resistance. You’ll either have no choice but to join them, or they will tear you apart.”

 

“But…” No matter what Merlin tried to say, Arthur just talked over him. During their time together, Merlin had come to realise that this was how Arthur dealt with things that were possibly way out of his control, he began issuing orders. At the back of his mind, he wondered whether he had always been like that or whether it was something that had only emerged since he had become a commander. In a way, it was reassuring, it made it sound like someone was in control of what was going on, but Merlin could tell by the way that Arthur kept glancing at him anxiously that he was far from in control. In fact, considering Arthur was so much better at hiding his emotions than Merlin was, the warlock got the feeling that Arthur was freaking out perhaps even more than he was.

  
“I will not let that happen to you, Merlin. Did you not hear what I admitted earlier, I love you. I won’t stand by and see you hurt, you have to run, now. Whilst you still can. Then…I’ll find you again, I swear. But I can’t find you if you are dead.”

 

Merlin didn’t know what to say, so instead just let Arthur hold him, taking in the feeling of being wrapped up in the safety of his arms, knowing that Arthur would do anything to keep him safe. Before, he had relished in the feeling, loving how special Arthur could make him feel. Now it was as if someone had punched him squarely in the chest, it was as if breathing was hard.

  
“It’s going to be alright, love.” Arthur soothed gently, pressing a kiss into his hair. Merlin could hear that Arthur was trying to sound reassuring, but it didn’t help that he could hear the slight tremor in the commander’s voice.

  
“What about you, what if Aredian does know that I am here?”  
  
“He won’t be able to prove it. The Pendragon name still gets me some advantages within the army, he won’t be touching our men, I’ll make sure of it. Come on, you need to go.” Merlin nodded against Arthur’s chest, but it was still a few moments before either of them pulled away from the embrace. The commander stepped back first, offering out the bag to Merlin, but the warlock shook his head. Instead, he crossed the room and pulled on first a top, then a hoody. By the time that he turned back, Arthur was smiling gently. It was the same ones belonging to the commander that Merlin had borrowed before they had found him some clothes of his own. This time, he let Arthur help hitch the bag onto his shoulders and the pair of them walked out of the room. The atmosphere couldn’t be more different than when they had left an hour before.

 

Just outside of the door, however, they found Gwen and Lancelot waiting for them. To Merlin’s surprise, Gwen had changed from the pretty dress that she had been wearing into some practical clothes, even with strong sturdy boots. Her hair was pinned up and there was a bag over her shoulder.

 

“I’m coming with you.” She stated, looking squarely at Merlin. He gaped, glancing between her and Lancelot, then back at Gwen.

  
“Isn’t it too dangerous?”  
  
“Not more dangerous than staying here.” Lancelot responded, but Merlin could see the same look in his eyes that was in Arthur’s. The pair of them didn’t want to let them go, and Merlin was beginning to feel more and more like it was they were being ripped apart rather than just going separate ways for the time being.

  
“Lance…”

“Merlin, they’ve got a point. Gwen is an army girl, she knows how to survive out there, and you’ll need all the help that you can get. Not to mention it gets her out of here for when Aredian arrives.” Arthur interrupted softly, his hand resting in the small of Merlin’s back. The warlock swallowed, but finally accepted what they were saying.

  
“It’ll be good not to be alone.” He eventually muttered, and Gwen smiled at him. Before he could say anything else, she had grabbed hold of Lancelot’s hand and pulled him into a corner so that they could have some privacy to say their goodbyes. Arthur let his hand rest on Lance’s arm as he moved past and motioned his head towards the bedroom. His soldier smiled, led Gwen in and the door snapped shut behind them.

  
“So you can take care of her…” A voice behind Merlin made him whirl around only to see Elyan standing there. He was holding out the smallest gun that Merlin had ever seen, yet he knew without asking that it would be just as good as its job as the machine gun that Gwaine always favoured in practice.

  
“You always recoil as you fire, so remember to aim slightly to the left until your aim improves. Gwen knows how to service and clean it, I’ll have to hope that she remembers to teach you, I don’t have time.” Elyan pressed it into Merlin’s hand, but Arthur plucked it out again, smoothly sliding it into the warlock’s back pocket.

  
“Thank you.” Merlin muttered, sincerity echoing within his voice. Elyan held out his hand and Merlin shook it, suddenly feeling like this was all very real. Arthur’s hand prompted him to take a step towards the door, but then Leon was suddenly in their way.

  
“Take these.” He said softly, handing Merlin an assortment of things. Merlin could see everything from a torch to a map, even a coil of rope curled within the bundle. Not knowing what to say, he just stood there mutely as Arthur once again took the belongings, opened up the top of Merlin’s bag and placed them inside. Leon echoed Elyan’s actions by holding out his hand, but Merlin threw his arms around the tall man’s neck.  
  
“Look after him.” He whispered in Leon’s ear before pulling back from the hug. Leon caught his eye and nodded, a promise spiralling deep within that meant Merlin knew he could hold Leon to his word. The man stepped aside, and before Merlin could say anything, he was pulled into a great big bear hug by Gwaine. The man didn’t say anything, just hugged him, let go and walked off, yet Merlin still found himself smiling. He now knew the men well enough to know that was a big deal for Gwaine to show something that emotional. He chuckled softly, only to have Percival’s hand clamped on his shoulder.

  
“For the road.” The giant of a man muttered, and Merlin’s jaw dropped at the pile of food that was being held out to him. Even as Arthur yet again somehow managed to fit it into the bag – Merlin had no idea how he was getting everything in – Lancelot and Gwen appeared from the room again. Her eyes were slightly red as she hugged her brother, but her mouth was set in a determined line. Merlin glanced between them, not wanting to be the reason that they had to separate.

 

“They’ll be back together soon, you’ll see. Just like we will be.” Arthur’s voice murmured softly in his ear, and Merlin twirled around, throwing his arms around Arthur’s neck and holding on as if the man was a lifeline. Judging by the way that Arthur’s own arms snaked around under the bag and he returned the hold with equal intensity, Merlin knew that words were not needed. They were both thinking the same thing.

  
“You have to go.”

“I don’t want to.”  
  
“Now is not the time to get stubborn, _Mer_ lin.” The drawl in Arthur’s voice was so familiar that Merlin managed to pull himself back slightly, only to kiss Arthur fiercely, attempting to pour everything that he was feeling into that one kiss. He refused to think that it was their last one.

 

“I’ll find you, I promise.” Arthur vowed, breathing heavily as he finally pulled back from the kiss, but his hand was caressing Merlin’s cheek gently.

  
“I love you.”  
  
“I know. Me too. Now go.” With that, he placed his hand on Merlin’s chest and shoved him back lightly. “Go.” He implored, backing away until he was standing in the middle of the room, his men surrounding them. Merlin tried to take a step towards him, but Gwen’s hand rested on his arm, slowly but surely tugging him out of the room.

 

As soon as the flat door snapped shut behind them, blocking off the sounds of the men preparing to carry out Arthur’s orders, Merlin took a deep breath. He had to pull himself together if they were going to get out of here and he was going to see Arthur again.

  
“Come on,” Gwen mumbled, her own face reflecting how he was feeling. Merlin had to remind himself that this was just as hard on her, that she too was leaving behind a loved one – two in fact, as her brother was there as well – and let her lead him down the stairs. They had already been told to not go out of the front as that was the way that Aredian would come in, so yet again, Merlin found himself sneaking out of the back door and climbing over the bins.  
  
This time, however, he didn’t set off for home. Instead, he let Gwen take his arm and lead him in the opposite direction. When they heard the roar of a powerful engine, both looked at each other and broke into a run. Merlin just hoped that Gwen knew where she was going because he didn’t have a clue, just knew that they had to get away from Aredian or he would never see Arthur again.

 

With that thought firmly lodged in his mind and keeping himself going, Merlin followed Gwen blindly, running until they suddenly found themselves in the shelter of some trees.

 

“We’re stopping here until we figure out where to go.” Gwen said firmly, and both of them dropped to the floor. Yet neither said a word about what they were doing, or where they were going to go. Instead, they just looked at each other and Merlin wrapped his arms around Gwen, pulling her towards him until her head was resting on his chest. As the evening drew in and darkness fell, both could only lie there, trying to find comfort in the other whilst their hearts were back in the flat, wondering what on earth was going on with the ones that they loved.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...act natural...

The words _act natural_ were the first thing to spring into Arthur’s head as he watched the door close behind Merlin and Gwen. Yet the only thing that he could do was simply stand there, staring at the door and finding that he was almost praying that it was going to open and Merlin was going to come bounding back in again with a big goofy grin on his face. They had barely been apart since they had apprehended Merlin outside Avalon all those months ago, and considering they had become used to Gwen being in the flat as well, Arthur was acutely aware of how quiet it now seemed. Of course, it didn’t help that the rest of the men were standing as silently as him, their minds going into overdrive as they tried to process what was happening. They had been lulled into a false sense of security, they should have known it was too good to last. After all, they were the Round Table, why on earth would they be able to get away with hiding a warlock in their midst?  
  
“Right, um…”

“Arthur, go for a run. Take Lancelot with you.” Leon cut through Arthur’s stuttered attempt at an order. He was the only one that looked the slightest bit calm, and Arthur knew that if they were going to get away with this, it would be thanks to Leon.

“Why?” The commander asked, not being sure why Leon wanted him out of the flat. “Surely we all need to be here?”

“If our commander isn’t present, then it is clear that we clearly aren’t doing anything right now. If Aredian gets here and we are all standing around like this, we have guilt written all over us. But if you time it so that you come back halfway through his usual inspection time, it will provide a welcome break and therefore distract his attention. You know how intense Aredian can get, at least if we break that intensity, we have a chance of holding it together.”

For a moment, Arthur could only blink, his fog-filled mind trying to process all that Leon had just told him. As the pieces began to slot together in his brain, he realised that it made sense. Aredian couldn’t do anything to them, they were on the same side and the man had to answer to Uther just as Arthur did. But he did know the man’s methods, and knew that he had a way of making it out so that someone was working against them. He wouldn’t even need to bring down the whole team, he would just need to trap one of them, make those in command think that the team wasn’t functioning well as a unit and they would officially be disbanded. Not only did Arthur want to keep them together because they were his team, his _family_ , but it went further than that. He had to stop Morgana somehow, he had to make it safe for Merlin. The only way that he was going to be able to do that was to bring down the Resistance, and for that, he needed his team.

“Okay, one thing?” He eventually muttered, running his hand through his hair and finally making himself move from where he had stood frozen for the last ten minutes. He needed to snap himself out of it and fast, yet the only thing that was filling his mind was the look on Merlin’s face as the warlock realised that he had to leave, he had to run.

“What?” Leon said slowly, almost sounding like he wasn’t sure whether he would like what was about to come out of his commander’s mouth. He was able to take control easily whenever Arthur wasn’t thinking quite straight, but as soon as the blond turned back into a commander again, he pulled rank almost without thinking about it. Leon was too much of a soldier through and through in order to go against Arthur when he did that.

“Why Lancelot?” Arthur asked, a frown on his face. Leon visibly relaxed, a small smile on his face as he rolled his eyes.

“Because he has exactly the same wistful look on his face that you do and it is obvious that he is pining after his brunette just the way that you are pining over yours.”

“I am _not_ pining.” Arthur muttered, feeling a blush work its way onto his face. He was a commander of a specialist unit, he didn’t pine just because his boyfriend had to leave for a few days.

“Sure. But either way, the two of you need to pull yourselves together.”

“Lance, run, now.” Arthur barked, making his way towards his bedroom in order to change. Gwaine stood up, shaking his head.

“You don’t have time to change.”

“They’ll know something isn’t right if we’re not wearing the right gear.” Arthur argued back, knowing that small details were what Aredian specialised in.

“Arthur, you don’t have time. If you want this to work, you need to leave now. They are almost here, a couple more moments and they’ll see you leave, they’ll know that we are orchestrating the whole thing and that is going to be far worse than you wearing the wrong clothes.” Arthur took a deep breath, catching Lancelot’s eye. The soldier nodded his understanding, causing Arthur to dip his own head in acknowledgement. For all of their sakes, they had to make this work.

Grabbing his phone, sliding an almost invisible gun into his belt and heading for the door, Arthur didn’t so much as glance back. He knew that Lancelot would be on his heels, and the fact that he was moving would cause the rest of the men to snap themselves out of their stupors and start trying to make it look like they were just on a break between jobs. Arthur knew how efficient they were, knew that in the couple of moments that Gwaine had said they had, the rest of the team would effectively be able to hide that, until a couple of hours ago, there had been two other people living in the flat.

The closing of the flat door did cause Arthur to come to a stop in the stair well though. He had never got on with Aredian, finding the man to be ruthless and cruel. Not to mention that whilst Arthur knew that he was only as strong as his team allowed him to be, Aredian worked on his own. He had men with him, but they only followed his bidding, there was no sense of comradeship about them. It did mean, however, that the man was even more dangerous. Arthur’s weakness was his men, everyone knew that he would do anything to protect them. Aredian didn’t have that, he didn’t have an obvious flaw. Arthur knew it was because of that reason that his men were so afraid of him. Even the sorcerers they went after had faults. Hell, even Merlin, the most powerful of them all, had a flaw, he had been caught. Aredian seemed to lack that.

Finally making himself move again, Arthur headed down the back staircase, knowing that he may as well give them a little more time by going over the wall rather than risking Aredian being closer than Gwaine anticipated. Sure enough, Lancelot followed without saying a word, although when Arthur glanced at his face, he could see that the soldier was struggling as much as he was with processing what was happening. Gwen was in danger by going with Merlin, they both knew that Aredian didn’t care who he hurt in order to get to his prey, as long as he was successful.

The pair vaulted over the back wall with ease, and Arthur found that he was following Lancelot’s gaze as they both stared out to where the tops of the trees were just visible. They both knew Gwen well enough to know that was where she would take Merlin. It almost took a conscious effort on Arthur’s behalf to turn the other way and to start running. Lancelot fell easily in step with him and the two took off, knowing that Aredian would be arriving at the flat at any moment. They couldn’t be out long, yet had to be breathless enough so that it look as if they had been out for a considerable length of time. Aredian couldn’t know under any circumstances that they knew he was coming.

Arthur took them down a back road that would lead to an open field. They could use the field to work up the sweat that they needed, but would be close enough to the flat that they could get back at a moment’s notice if signalled. Not that Arthur thought they would be, Aredian wouldn’t let any of the others send a message. He used surprise to work to his advantage, trying to use those few moments where no one was quite sure what was going on to catch them off guard. For a short time, the two just ran in silence, neither knowing what to say.

“I’m sorry Gwen got involved.” Arthur finally muttered, keeping the pace easy. The last thing that he wanted was for them to be worn out, not considering they had no idea what would be waiting for them when they returned home. Out of the corner of his eye, he was vaguely aware of Lancelot shrugging.

“She wouldn’t have it any other way, you know that.”

“I do.” Arthur’s response caused a silence to fall once again. It was something that had never truly been spoken about, their complicated relationship with Gwen. The commander knew that Lancelot was aware that Arthur had given her up without a fight in order for them to be happy together rather than allowing it to cause friction within the unit. Whilst the commander didn’t think it was much of a big deal now that he had Merlin – especially as he realised that he had never felt that way whilst he was with Gwen, it had more just been a relationship of convenience – he knew that Lancelot had never quite let it go. Now that their respective partners were on the run together, Arthur felt like now was a good time as any to say something.  
  
“Lance…”

“Don’t. I know what you are going to say, Sir, and I don’t want to hear it.” Arthur skidded to a stop, sticking out an arm in order to make sure that Lancelot did the same. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react to that.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to say something along the lines of that you’re glad that I’m happy now, that we belong together, hell, maybe even that we look good together and that you would have given her up again if it came to it. But it doesn’t mean anything now. You’re in love, and I’m really happy for you. But I still had to look you in the eye for months knowing that you still thought that you loved her. Gwen told me how forced things were between you. You thought you were in love, you tried to make yourself believe that you were in love, and all along it was just a way of getting your father off your back. So I don’t want to hear you say it now, because it loses the effect somewhat now that you have finally moved on.”

“Oh.” Arthur didn’t know what to say. Lancelot had a point, he should have given them his blessing months ago. They all knew that he had given her up, because he moped around for weeks on end, casting a shadow over the happiness that one of his men had finally found. He had been fully aware that Gwen had been drawn to Lance ever since they had first laid eyes on each other, but because of the type of person that she was, she would have never done anything. Her loyalty was to Arthur at the time, and she wouldn’t risk that. Now, however, it was like her loyalty was to them all, as if she was as much part of the team as Merlin was.

Arthur started running again, not really knowing what else to do. He had thought that it would be a good thing to talk about, but now it seemed that fate was deciding to let him know just how much of an arse he had been. But he couldn’t just let it go, he had to know what that meant for the future.

“Are we okay?” He eventually muttered quietly, waiting until Lance had fallen into step with him once again and the pair had established a steady pace. He needed to know that Lancelot didn’t have his own loyalties divided, and judging by the look that the man shot him, he knew that he had nothing to worry about.

“We’re fine, Arthur. How can we not be, you pushed the love of my life into my arms? I know I said I didn’t want to hear it, but that doesn’t mean I underestimate what you gave up. Thank you.” Arthur shot him a brief smile and they both turned away from each other, subconsciously picking up the pace. Although Lancelot had possibly always been the most romantic of the team – having the experience of not only being infatuated with Gwen, but knowing enough about what life was like outside the army as well – it didn’t mean that emotions were something that the team dwelled on. Hell, before Merlin, there was no way that Arthur would ever admit to being in love. Somehow, it just felt right to now being able to say it out loud.

“We should head back. We’ve been out for about half an hour, we can claim that we were out for at least an hour if he should ask.”

“Do you really think that he is going to find anything about Merlin from us?” Lancelot asked quietly, his voice lined with concern. It made Arthur realise just how much everyone, not just him, was sacrificing in helping hide the warlock.

“I don’t see how, just don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. We’re not supposed to have any idea that there is a leak, that someone is betraying us. We don’t know what Gilli said, yet just have to assume that he told someone that Merlin was with us. We’re going to have to outright lie about this, and you know as well as I do how good Aredian is about detecting when someone is lying.”

Lancelot didn’t answer, but Arthur knew what was going through his soldier’s head. This was going to be one of the hardest things that they had done, mainly because they couldn’t fight off the threat physically. It was all going to be mind games, something that Arthur hated with a passion ever since Morgause had kidnapped him. Somehow, feeling the way that he did about Merlin meant that he felt like he was going to be able to keep his head a lot better than normal this time though.

The two ran back almost swiftly, making sure to use the front entrance this time in order to try and start the lie that they had nothing to hide. Aredian would have been with the others for roughly half an hour by now, and Arthur knew it was a good a time as any to interrupt. Aredian may outrank him, but it was an unwritten rule that the Round Table answered only to their commander. Aredian could order Arthur, but it was Arthur himself that still had the power to order his men. He was their line of protection against the man, and it was a responsibility that he took very seriously. Just because their team had grown lately didn’t mean that he cared for the individual members any less.

“… and you need to make sure that you work on your aim, you keep slipping over to the left again.” Tipping Lancelot a wink, Arthur opened the door with a flourish, making sure that his voice had travelled enough for anyone on the other side to hear him.

His quick eyes took in the scene in front of him. Leon, Percival and Elyan were standing next to each other, all three with their hands clasped behind their backs in perfect military form. Gwaine, however, was groaning slightly in the floor, handcuffs keeping his wrists bound in front of him and one of Aredian’s men with his hands on the Gwaine’s shoulders, keeping him down. Arthur was hard pushed not to smile – Gwaine had never had the same qualms as the rest of them about how he spoke to Aredian. Arthur also knew that it would have worked to their advantage. Aredian would have been so determined to show what happened to those who didn’t toe the line that he would have wasted time restraining Gwaine when he could have fbeen searching.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Arthur thundered, his voice making all the occupants in the room jump slightly. Gwaine even twisted around where he was kneeling in order to take a look at his commander, and Arthur was vaguely aware of Lancelot dropping back slightly now that the door was closed in order to make sure that Arthur was in front. Stepping out from the shadows, Aredian’s wiry frame gave away who the man was even before he spoke.

“Arthur. It’s been a while.”

 “Knights, stand down. Give me the keys to those cuffs immediately and then explain what the hell you think you are doing here.” Arthur snarled, stepping forward and holding out his hand expectantly. It came as no surprise when Aredian didn’t hand over the keys to free Gwaine.

“Routine inspection.” Aredian said smoothly, and Arthur knew in those two words what game they were playing. Aredian wasn’t going to let on that he had been tipped off that Merlin was with them. He was going to see how much Arthur was going to give away.

“One, we’re not due one for two weeks, it’s in the file on the…no, not on the coffee table anymore as you seem to have kicked that over. And two, why the hell does a routine inspection involved restraining my men?”

“You know how these things are, Arthur.”

“I thought I did. You, Aredian, seem to have a rule book to yourself.” If anyone was impressed about how authoritative Arthur could make himself sound even when his heart was beating a thousand miles per hour, they managed to hide it. If he was honest, Arthur wasn’t sure how well _he_ was hiding it, especially not as Aredian took a step closer. He forced himself to lift his chin and continue to look the man directly in the eye.

“Is there a problem with me inspecting your flat early, commander? Do you have something to hide, something that you perhaps wouldn’t want me finding?” Even as he walked closer, Aredian pulled one of the cushions off the sofa in a deliberate motion. Arthur could only watch, knowing that the man was hoping for a reaction as he pulled a small switchblade out of his pocket and sliced the cushion open, causing stuffing to spill out. Plunging his hand in, Aredian then proceeded to pull out the rest of the stuffing, effectively proving that there was nothing hidden within before throwing it on the floor. Arthur glared.

“I do hope that your new rules include footing the bill for cleaning up this place afterwards?” He asked coldly, determined to keep the attention away from his men. Aredian simply smirked, jerking his head towards two more of his men that had been flanking the door. One pushed Lancelot over to stand with the rest of them, before they both closed in on Arthur.

“Restrain the commander.”  
  
“You can’t do this!” Gwaine yelled, trying to get up from where he was on the floor, but Arthur shook his head warningly at him.

“I’m sure he is about to point out that he can.” Arthur said smoothly, letting his hands be drawn behind his back and handcuffed. “You’ve been playing by your rules, Aredian, now you play by mine. You deal with me and me alone, you touch my men, and I take it straight to my father.”

“So protective, I expected nothing less. Very well, take him in there.” Arthur allowed himself to be manhandled into his own room. Aredian entered behind him, then the guards left and the door snapped shut. Arthur knew full well that the guards would be watching the rest of his men, making sure that they didn’t move. But he also knew the discipline that his soldiers could demonstrate when the time suited them. It didn’t matter how long they had to stand there for, they would barely even blink, let alone move. That was the one novelty of having a team with such a high level of respect. They might be relaxed most of the time, but when it mattered, the worked together flawlessly.

“Are you going to tell me why this routine inspection has been brought forward a week? It’s most unlike you to change your schedule. Not to mention this -,” Arthur paused, raising his bound hands as high as his shoulders would allow him to go before protesting -, “seems just a little extravagant, even for you.”

“Maybe it is because I believe you have something big to hide this time, Arthur. You’ve been allowed to get away with things for far too long, just because of who your father is. I thought I would remind the average soldiers that even specialised units with powerful commanders have to fall into line. And if you remember, you punched me the last time we met.”

Arthur snorted slightly, unable to hide his smile. That was certainly a moment that he was proud of, and it didn’t matter what his father had done, Uther had never been able to get his son to apologise for it.

“Guess the handcuffs are needed then, for I would quite happily punch you again. You’ve got that kind of face, sorry, mate.” He was going for flippancy, knowing how much sarcasm seemed to be lost on Aredian. Sometimes it was hard to remember that they were supposed to be fighting for the same side, especially as the majority of Arthur’s instincts were telling him to just fight the man and force him out of his home.

“Indeed. Talking of handcuffs, were you aware that some specialist cuffs have gone missing in the last year? In fact, a lot of things have gone missing. Magical restraints, weapons…warlocks.”

Now they were getting somewhere, but Arthur kept his expression completely neautral.

“Getting clumsy and careless there, are we, Aredian?” His hope to annoy the man worked as Aredian lunged forward, grabbing Arthur by the shoulder. He spun the commander around and pushed him against the wall. Every instinct was telling Arthur to fight back, but he just let it happen. It was almost certain that Aredian was hoping for a fight, hoping to find some way to make this whole thing far more official than it was. Arthur was not going to give him that.

“You wouldn’t know anything about those missing items now, would you, Arthur?”

“’Fraid not. Feel free to search the place though.” He had been hoping that Aredian would call his bluff, but had to fight to hide his discomfort as he was pushed down on the bed.

“I might just do that. You sit there nice and quiet like.” Arthur tried not to squirm as Aredian started rummaging through drawers. He knew his team would have concealed any evidence that Merlin had been in the flat, but Aredian did have a point. Arthur had been the one to steal the handcuffs and odd pieces of weaponry throughout the last couple of years as a way of getting back at his father, and if Aredian could pin that on him, Arthur knew he would be hauled in for questioning. His team might be good, but they couldn’t go against the whole army.

He found himself swallowing nervously as Aredian turned his attention onto the bedside table, making a slow and deliberate point of pulling out the drawers and upending them all over the floor. The man used intimidation as one of his techniques, and although Arthur had always prided himself in not giving in, with his hands cuffed behind his back, he had to admit that there was a flash of concern shooting through him. But then he almost laughed out loud as Aredian ran out of things to search. The cuffs were gone.

Unbidden, the memory of letting Gwen and Lance use his room to say goodbye sprang to mind and Arthur had to fight to keep the smile off his face. Whilst they all trusted Merlin with his magic, he knew that the warlock could be a little temperamental at times when it came to getting what he wanted. Gwen knew this, and also knew where he had kept the cuffs. No doubt she wanted to give herself that little bit more protection, and having a way of restraining Merlin’s power should the situation arise certainly gave her that. It might have also just proven to have saved Arthur’s arse.

“See, nothing there.”

“I know you are hiding something, Pendragon. Mark my words, I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“You do that.” Arthur responded, somewhat cheerfully. Aredian grabbed him by the back of the collar and yanked him up from the bed, making it more than apparent that Arthur’s young age given his level of command was another thing that was grating on Aredian. The man pulled up the bedroom door and almost flung Arthur out, causing him to land heavily on his knees. The blond didn’t even flinch, but just casually knelt up and made a show of trying to straighten out his top, causing Gwaine to openly laugh from where he too was still kneeling.

“I’ll find what you are hiding, then your days will be numbered.”

“Of course,” Arthur responded with mock sincerity, nodding as Aredian strode from the room, his men trailing behind him. The last to leave was the one that had been holding down Gwaine, and he paused in the doorway, threw the keys to the cuffs at Arthur’s head and then left, slamming the door behind him.

Leon wasted no time in unlocking first Arthur, then Gwaine, much to the latter’s annoyance as he loudly protested that he had been the one who had been tied up for longest. The second in command just shot him a withering look and Gwaine swiftly shut his mouth again, even if they could still hear him mumbling under his breath about Arthur getting special treatment and why was it that he was the only one who had been cuffed.

“Why were you cuffed?” Lancelot enquired lightly, offering down a hand to help Gwaine up. It was Elyan who answered from the other side of the room, immediately heading to check on his weapons and make sure that none of them had been damaged in the search.

“He thought that he would play it real and tried to force Aredian from the flat when he arrived, claiming that the man couldn’t be here unless Arthur was.” The commander chuckled slightly, taking Percival’s hand with a smile and being drawn to his feet. Only Gwaine would be the one to straight out challenge Aredian, but Arthur was glad that he did. He liked his team giving off the appearance that no one walked over them, no matter who they were.

Moving across the room, Arthur opened the door and peered out, making sure that no one had been left to watch them. The coast seemed clear, but when Percival opened his mouth, Arthur shook his head. Through a complex motion of hand signals, he set the men searching the room for bugs of any sort, knowing that Aredian was as good at hiding things as he was about destroying them. Sure enough, five were found, and given their obscure position, Arthur was satisfied that was all of them. Only once Percival had crushed them in one hand did he blow out a long breath, sagging into one of their remaining chairs.

“Well done.” Arthur sighed, running a hand through his hair and suddenly realising just how exhausted he felt. It had certainly been a long and emotional day, no one could argue with that. Now that Aredian had gone, the commander once again found that his thoughts were returning to Merlin and Gwen, wondering if they were somewhere safe, if they had managed to get away. Aredian could track anywhere, but it was far harder for him to find someone outside of Camelot. They just had to get out of the city and they would stand a chance… He knew that Gwen would realise this, but Arthur was more worried about whether Merlin would allow them to leave.

“What do we do now?” Elyan asked softly, sitting down on the floor and looking up at Arthur expectantly. The commander gazed over the man’s head for a long moment, his mind racing. What did they do now? Should he let the search prove as a warning, make him back off slightly? Or did he still go by what he said to Merlin about going after Morgana? Could they even do it without a warlock on their side? Either way, Arthur knew that if they were to go after the witch, it would be a long and slow process considering they didn’t even know where she was hiding. Taking a deep breath, he turned so that he wasn’t just answering Elyan, but all of his men.

“We do our job.”


	24. Chapter 24

Merlin dutifully put one foot in front of the other, following Gwen through the forest. He trusted that she knew where she was going, for he was completely lost. He knew that he should have been paying more attention, taking note of their surroundings or something like that, but his thoughts were firmly back in the flat with a certain blond commander. Would Aredian have got there by now? Would he believe them when they denied having anything to do with the escaped warlock, or would he push until he got the answers that he wanted? What if he did something to them, what if he _hurt_ them just in order to get to Merlin?

His thoughts were so troubled that he didn’t even notice Gwen stop until he had walked into her.

“Sorry.” Merlin mumbled, but the woman just cast him an amused look over her shoulder, digging into her pocket. It was only then that Merlin realised the reason why they had stopped – Gwen’s phone was going off. He watched, almost holding his breath, as she flipped it open, her brow furrowed.

“It’s from Elyan.” She eventually said, relief in her voice but Merlin found that only made his frown deepen. Was it safe for the solider to be texting his sister? What if they knew that Gwen was somehow involved and it was a trick, a trap of some sort so that they could come after them? Merlin wasn’t quite sure when he had become so paranoid, but there had been something about being made to live in secret for six months had put him on edge. Gwen glanced at him before he could say anything and she seemed to read in his expression what he was thinking.

“It’s okay. They have no idea that I was there, let alone involved. And it’s in code, something that looks like just an innocent message between siblings.”

“So what does it really say?” Merlin whispered, not being sure if he wanted to know. Surely if it was bad news, Gwen wouldn’t look as relaxed as she did now.

“That everything is okay. They’ve got away with it, Merlin, Aredian has no idea that you were there. Or if he does know, he has no proof and therefore can’t do anything. They know how to cover our tracks, Merlin, we’re safe. You’ve got away.” Merlin let out the long breath that he didn’t even know he had been holding, leaning back on the closest tree and letting it support his weight as his eyes shut in relief.  Arthur was safe… the whole team was safe. He had always feared that his magic would hurt them, but it was only now that he realised just how worried he had been that they would have been hurt _because_ of his magic.

“So what do we do now?” He eventually asked, hoping that Gwen had a better idea than he did. She shrugged though, looking back the way they had come with the same longing in her eyes that Merlin could feel in his heart. Her hand rose to her neck and Merlin blinked in surprise when he saw that she was fiddling with a ring. It was simply and unadorned, but he always forget that her and Lancelot had taken their relationship that one step further and were due to be married. Somehow, it made Merlin feel awful. Not only had they been forced to run because of him, but he had spent so long worrying about Arthur that it had slipped his mind that she was leaving someone behind as well. Pushing himself away from the tree, Merlin slung an arm comfortingly around her shoulders.

“We’ll be okay.” He muttered, glancing about him as he did so. It shouldn’t be up to Gwen to get them away. Neither of them could deny that she was more skilled in regards to making the actual escape, but Merlin was the one with the power. It was his fault, regardless of what anyone else said, meaning that it was up to him to put it right.

After a moment, however, he frowned. He had been following Gwen blindly, but as he looked around, he realised that there was something familiar about this forest. Something that tugged at the back of his mind, stirring a memory long forgotten, and he couldn’t help but gasp. He knew precisely where they were, and dropping his arm from Gwen, he spun in a tight circle, his mind confirming what his heart already knew.

“You’ve brought me home.” He said softly, a smile beginning to emerge on his face. The weight lifted from his shoulders even as it was Gwen’s turn to frown. Before she could say anything, Merlin pressed on.  
  
“Aredian can’t find anyone out of Camelot, right?”

“Well, he can, just not as easily, that’s why I headed towards the border.”

“You didn’t just head to any old border.” Merlin exclaimed, taking her hand and beginning to pull her through the forest, a boost of energy flooding into him. Not only had they potentially got beyond Aredian’s reach, Gwen had brought him to a place that Merlin knew, a place that he had been longing to return to ever since Will had died.

“Welcome to Ealdor, Gwen.” The trees were thinning even as Merlin spoke and a sprawling village emerged as they made it over the crest of the small hill that they had been climbing. Gwen gasped, confirming Merlin’s suspicions that she had either seen his file or Lancelot had said something, but the look on her face gave away that she truly had had no idea where she had been taking him as they had run through the forest. Merlin, however, felt that his heart felt lighter than it had done for hours and there was a spring in his step as he pulled Gwen down the hill, wanting to be home almost as much as he wanted to be back in Arthur’s arms. Gwen had to struggle to keep up with him.

Despite Merlin’s enthusiasm, it still took them almost an hour to reach the outskirts of the village. Gwen automatically pressed herself close to Merlin’s side, and the warlock found that his arm had come to settle over her shoulder once again, keeping her close. If he was honest, it was as much for his comfort as hers. He hadn’t been home properly for years, Hunith had always chosen to come and visit the boys in Camelot rather than risking Merlin making the journey. Not only was it a dangerous route for a warlock on the best of days, people in the village had also began to ask questions about why he had left, what was truly going on.

The further into the village they got, the heavier the weight of the stares became. Merlin kept his eyes down, deliberately trying to avoid looking at anyone head on, and feeling Will’s loss even more. Will was always the one that had met their stares head on, unabashed and almost daring them to say something whilst Merlin just wanted the ground to swallow him whole to avoid it. They had always talked about coming home together, and as the thought crossed his mind, Merlin almost stumbled.

“It’s okay,” Gwen whispered, squeezing his arm gently. She seemed to be able to pick up from his body language what he was thinking about. If there was one thing that Gwen had picked up from her time spent living with the team, it was that Merlin’s magic was unpredictable. But it was almost dangerously so when he thought about what his friend had gone through to protect Merlin’s secret, and the fact that his tormentor was still out there. Merlin nodded once to show that he had noted her concern, that he knew he had to keep control of himself. He couldn’t make it this far only to lose control in the middle of the village.

“Merlin? Merlin, lad, is that you?” The last thing that Merlin had wanted was to draw attention to himself, but he knew that he couldn’t ignore the voice when it was saying his name.

“Hey, Matthew.” He muttered, feeling Gwen draw away slightly as a tall man hurried over, clapping Merlin on the shoulder and a grin splitting his face in half. Merlin met his eyes briefly and offered a terse smile before dropping them again, and the grin on Matthew’s face flickered slightly.   
  
“You’ve changed, lad.” His hand dropped as he spoke, but Merlin didn’t mind. In the time that he had been gone, he had mastered his powers to a greater extent than before, become involved with a training regime by a military unit, lost the person closest to him in the worst circumstances possible and fallen in love with the man that had sent his life on a whirlwind of a rollercoaster. It came as no surprise that Matthew could see the difference between the Merlin returning and the innocent, carefree one who had left for the city years ago.

“I had no choice.” Merlin mumbled, keeping his eyes down this time. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his expression neutral. He hadn’t truly thought about Ealdor since meeting Arthur, but he was surprising himself by how much it hurt being back here. It was as if nothing had changed, as if they thought that he was still the same boy as before. “Is my mother in?”

“Aye, lad, that she is. Mighty glad to see you she’ll be an’ all. You run along now, take your friend with you.” Matthew backed away, clearly trying to make a retreat, but Merlin found that he was frozen to the spot. Gwen slipped her hand in his, tugging him from the middle of the street and into the dark passageway between two houses. Night was fast approaching now, and they were hidden here. As soon as he knew that no one could see them, Merlin sagged, leaning against one of the walls and running a shaking hand across his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Gwen asked gently, leaving her hand clasped in his and her eyes burning with concern. Merlin nodded once, then again with more feeling in it. In that moment, he knew that he was. He might have been a different person to the one that left, but he knew now what that meant. He had said that Gwen had brought him home, but that wasn’t true. His home was with a specialised army unit, their easy smiles and quick reactions. His home was curled up with Arthur whilst listening to Gwaine and Elyan arguing over something trivial. His home was now in Camelot, this was just the place that he had grown up in.

“I’m fine. Just never thought…”

“I know.” Gwen squeezed his hand sympathetically. “You know about Lance being a journalist before this? I went with him once, he wanted to visit some old friends, wanted to see what would have become of him had he stayed there. Once you get into this stuff, there is no going back, something that you don’t really realise until you try and face your old life. You’re one of us now, Merlin, this won’t be your home again.”

“I know.” Merlin said softly, and found that he meant it. It was a hiding place for him now, a place where he could see his mother again and work out what they were supposed to do next. But it wasn’t home. “Come on, let’s get inside before night falls. We’re close to the woods, you don’t want to be out in the village after dark.”

Taking the lead once again, Merlin moved swiftly through the houses. He found that now he had realised what it meant to him to come home again, he was moving with a confidence that he had never had here before. Gwen was right, their lifestyle did get under your skin, but Merlin wasn’t going to let it bring him down and force him to hide. He was going to show off the fact that he was a different person. He wasn’t a frightened boy who didn’t know his place in the world anymore, he was a warlock.

His house was locked, but that came as no surprise. He could see that there was a fire burning within, a clear sign that his mother was in. He let his hand ghost over the handle and his eyes flashed in the darkness, causing the lock to click. He stepped back to let Gwen go in first before entering and shutting the door behind him. Unable to stop himself, Merlin took in a deep breath, a smile crossing his face as he drank in the smells of being back here. It might not be his home any more, but that didn’t mean that it had lost its place in his heart,

It was Gwen’s gasp that made him realise that something was wrong and he turned, his hand raised and his eyes glowing just in time to stop a pan colliding with his head. It froze in mid-air before the owner holding it dropped it with a loud clatter, her hand flying to her mouth and tears burning in her eyes.

“Merlin?” She gasped, almost sounding like she didn’t want to believe it as she tentatively moved forward, letting her hand drop from her mouth and stretch out towards him. She stopped herself before she touched him, clearly knowing by his easy display of magic that her son had grown in more ways than one, but Merlin smiled. Cupping her hand with his own, he pressed it against his cheek in the way that he knew she had been aiming for.

“Hello, Mother.” He whispered gently, trying to hold himself together as she practically fell into his arms. He held her close, feeling the way that her hand was stroking his chest, moving up to cup his face again as she stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. The tears didn’t vanish from her eyes, but they didn’t quite spill over either. How long the moment lasted, Merlin had no idea, but he felt a sense of peace settle into him that he hadn’t felt for years. The team might have been his new family now, but nothing would ever replace his mother.

Eventually though, she pulled back, reached up and cuffed him over the head.

“What have I told you about letting yourself in like that?” She mock-scolded, but Merlin could see the wonder in her eyes. Before he had left, Merlin’s magic was temperamental, acting out when it wanted rather than what Merlin wanted. Stopping the frying pan was something he had been able to do before, it was a sense of self preservation. But never before had he been able to unlock a door that quietly. He would have more likely torn the whole thing off its hinges rather than simply undo the lock.

“What can I say, I wanted to make an entrance.” Merlin mumbled, his voice shaking slightly. He cleared his throat self-consciously and stepped back. “Mother, this is my friend, Gwen.”

“Your friend?”

“Yes, Mother, my friend.” Merlin rolled his with a grin as he saw the sparkle in Hunith’s eyes and knew that she was only teasing.

“Not girlfriend then?”

“She’s engaged.” Merlin rolled his eyes, knowing that the woman standing in front of him was not going to let this go until the smile on his face became more genuine. No matter what the circumstances, she knew how to make him smile.

“Merlin!”

“Oh for heaven sake’s.” Merlin couldn’t help but burst out laughing. His mother had always been the same, seeming to believe that her son was a magnet for anyone looking for love. “She’s not engaged to me, but another friend of mine. Maybe my heart has been taken by another.”

Hunith smiled, caressing his cheek one last time before moving forward, taking Gwen’s hand and drawing her into the living room. In a movement that Merlin barely even saw, she had slipped Gwen’s bag from her shoulders as she did so and nudged her down onto the sofa.

“You are most welcome, my dear. Now, tell me about this person who has my son acting like a lovestruck teenager.”

“I am a teenager, Mother.” Merlin grumbled, but picked up the bags and followed them in anyway. He knew that this was her way of trying to find out what had been going on without directly asking. Merlin knew what room she would set Gwen up in, and had one foot on the bottom of the stairs in order to take the bags up when Hunith’s voice called him back.

“Merlin? Where’s William?”

Just like that, Merlin knew that he was in for a very long night. Swallowing hard, he put the bags back on the floor and turned to face his mother, feeling the way that the colour drained from his face. Hunith gasped, reading something in his expression and moving forward. Taking his hand, she pulled him into the room and sat him down, fussing around the way that she had always done when he was little. She didn’t even attempt to get the story from him until both he and Gwen had blankets over their knees and steaming mugs in their hands.

When she sat down opposite him, however, Merlin knew that he owed her the truth. He glanced sideways at Gwen, silently asking her permission to be able to tell the whole story, and the girl nodded. Taking a deep breath and studying his hands, Merlin began to talk. Every single thing that had happened since the day he had first bumped into Arthur at Avalon all the way through to his “arrest”, release and then his new type of life. He hadn’t been able to say everything like that as of yet, and it came as something of a relief to just let everything out, knowing that he was in front of the one person that he didn’t need to pretend.

MMM

They talked late into the night, Gwen excusing herself early on to give mother and son some privacy. Merlin wasn’t sure when the last time that he had talked like that had been, but he couldn’t deny that he felt so much better for it. It was one thing talking about Will’s death with the team, but they had known what he had been like afterwards, they had known who had done it and why. When he spoke about his friend with them, it was in terms of working out how to get revenge. But Will had been a brother to him, Hunith was able to just hold him as he let out what it was like to lose someone that close to him, something that he wasn’t sure he had done since the man had died. After he had dried his eyes, Merlin realised that revenge suddenly didn’t so important.

It had been some unearthly time in the morning by the time his mother finally sent him to bed, promising that they would talk more when the sun was up. Merlin had barely made it to his bed before he had crashed down on it and was fast asleep. He had always slept well in Arthur’s bed, something that surprised him originally, but there could be no denying that it was the best night’s sleep he had had in months when he finally awoke the next morning. It was already early afternoon, and the sound of Gwen talking with his mother in the kitchen made Merlin smile the second he opened his bedroom door.

He was quiet whilst he ate, and after asking if Gwen would be okay staying here for a while, he had headed towards the front door once again. His mother, however, had always known him better than he had ever given her credit for, and she followed him out into the hall, placing her hand against the door to stop him from leaving.

“You’re going to see Kilgharrah, aren’t you?” Merlin knew that there was no point in lying to her and mutely nodded. He made sure to meet her gaze head on. He knew why she was worried, the old man was the only other person who knew about Merlin, and his puzzles and riddles had often left the warlock confused, upset and frustrated when he had been younger. More than once Hunith was forced to soothe her boy for hours until he relaxed, but whenever she had requested that the man left Merlin alone, he had just chuckled deeply and spouted another riddle. This time, however, Merlin had to know if he had any answers about what he was supposed to do next.

“You do remember that he was the one that originally put the idea into your head about going to Camelot, don’t you?” She asked anxiously, and Merlin sighed, knowing where she was going with this.

“He told me that _I_ had to go. He said nothing about Will accompanying me. I seem to recall it was the pair of you who believed that I wouldn’t be able to stay out of trouble and insisted on sending someone with me. It’s not Kilgharrah’s fault.”

“Does that mean that you blame me? I was the one who refused to let you go alone.”

“No.” Merlin closed his eyes, sighing even as he was quick to reassure his mother. That thought hadn’t even crossed his mind, yet he pinched the top of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, shaking his head. “Of course not, that is not what I meant at all. The Resistance had found out about me, it was no one’s fault but theirs. But… he told me things.”

“Things about your destiny?” There could be no denying the scepticism in Hunith’s voice, and Merlin could see where she was coming from. She had struggled enough bringing him up and trying to hide that her son had been born with magic from the local villagers, let alone what happened every time a rumour spread about a sorcerer being in town. When a cryptic old man told a young and impressionable Merlin that his destiny rested in the great city to the east, it was everything she had been trying to protect had just fallen apart around her. It was hard enough for any parent to let their child go, let alone to a place where his existence would get him killed.

“Merlin, it’s nonsense. There is no such thing as a destiny, and you certainly won’t find it in Camelot.”

“I found Arthur.” Merlin responded simply, his voice soft and low. For the first time since he had heard Kilgharrah talk about there being another, someone that would be able to make magic free again, he had been dreaming about who is knight in shining armour would be. And then along had come Arthur, someone who was supposed to hate Merlin’s very existence and yet had encouraged him, taught him even how to use his magic freely. Merlin simply had to know if that was the destiny that Kilgharrah had been talking about, whether the man that he had fallen in love with was the other half of his coin. Hunith sighed.

“Just because you are in love doesn’t mean that you have found your destiny.”

“Didn’t you feel like that when you met Dad?” Merlin knew very little about his father other than knowing that the man had powerful magic himself and had fled abroad to avoid the likes of Aredian without telling them why. It had been years later that mother and son had found out the true reasons for his flight. His mother’s eyes found the floor and she silently nodded.

“That’s how I feel about Arthur, Mum. This isn’t some random stage that I’m going through, thinking I’m in love. I’ve never felt like this before, it is as if we fit together, as if we are meant to be somehow. I think Arthur was the one that Kilgharrah was referring to, I have to know for sure. I just want to talk to him, that is all. Besides, I’m leaving Gwen with you. She would track me down and drag me back before I had even gone more than one step outside of the village. I’m not going anywhere, not this time…”

“Just be careful.” Hunith whispered, and Merlin smiled, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

“Always.” With those words, he let himself out of the house and moved swiftly through the village. He kept his head down and his eyes averted, moving as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself. For a reason he couldn’t explain, he didn’t want anyone to know that he was back. They were in hiding, that was the only reason that they were here. Announcing his presence was not going to be the best thing to do. Luckily, Kilgharrah lived off to one side, on the very outskirts of the village and it wasn’t long before Merlin had turned off the main streets.

The area around the old man’s house was overgrown, looking almost as wild as the forest Merlin had travelled through only the day before. Pushing his way through a particularly stubborn bush and trying to resist the temptation to use magic to do it, Merlin couldn’t help but wonder whether anyone had been here since he had left over two years ago. Finally, he found the door, and it came as no surprise when it swung open even as he raised his fist to knock.

“Hello?” Calling out, Merlin glanced around him as he stepped over the threshold, shivering slightly. Kilgharrah’s house – more of a hut really – had always been cold, and Merlin hated how dark it was. It made him feel small and insignificant, not helped but the nonsense that the old man spouted whenever he arrived. Ducking a low hanging beam, Merlin jumped as a voice came from behind him.

“So the young warlock returns.” Whirling around, Merlin tensed, his magic springing to his defence. The old man was sitting in a deep armchair, a walking stick balanced against the side and his feet propped up on a small stool. But his eyes were just as bright as ever and Merlin found himself swallowing hard. He made the show of relaxing, but didn’t let his magic go completely. Regardless of what he had told his mother, he still wasn’t comfortable in the old man’s presence.

“I need to know more about my destiny.” He announced boldly, not moving from where he stood. There was no point with small talk around Kilgharrah, the man always just fixed him with a look that made Merlin squirm whenever he tried that. The old man picked up his stick and pressed it against another small stool, shoving it over to Merlin in a clear gesture for him to sit down. Merlin did so, perching on the edge and feeling like any sudden movement or noise would have him on the floor. He still couldn’t bring himself to relax though, he never could in this house.

“Yes, I suppose you do.” Kilgharrah responded slowly, sounding as if he knew precisely why Merlin was here and wasn’t at all surprised by it. Merlin lifted his chin, looking the old man straight in the eye.

“Tell me.” He knew that he had picked up that commanding note from Arthur and the man chuckled deeply, watching Merlin in amusement. What came as more of a surprise was when he did indeed follow the order, beginning to speak.

Merlin listened attentively, wondering if he was about to find out just how entwined his and Arthur’s lives had just become.


	25. Chapter 25

Merlin made himself comfortable, somehow knowing that he was going to be here for a while. Kilgarrah had never been able to give him a straight answer, but simply riddle after riddle. His head would no doubt be left reeling and his mind more confused than when he had first entered the old man’s house. But he also knew what Kilgharrah was like, and knew that trying to speed him up or get him to talk sense would have Merlin thrown from the house before he had quite registered what had happened.

  
“So you have met the young Pendragon then?” Merlin didn’t even blink. Things had stopped surprising him around Kilgharrah by the time that he was ten. He had learnt not to question how the man knew, but accept he more often than not had the answers, even if Merlin had to decipher what had just been said.

  
“You knew that I would?”

  
“Like I told you two years, three months and four days ago, you would find your destiny in Camelot.”

  
“So it’s true? Arthur is my destiny?” Merlin wasn’t quite aware of how young he sounded when he said that, leaning forward on the stool to the extent that he was in danger of toppling off and looking at the man with wide eyes. He wanted it to be true, for he wasn’t sure he could cope with falling in love with the man and then being told that his destiny was someone - or something, for that matter - else. Kilgharrah didn’t answer, he just gave him a long and steady look that caused a smile to split over Merlin’s face. That told him enough.

  
“Why have you been helping them, they are going after your own kind, have they not?”

  
“No. We go after sorcerers. I know how their power comes about, I’m not naïve anymore. In order for someone to gain magic, there must be bloodshed. They’re murderers, that is who we go after.” Merlin said firmly. It was something that he himself had thought about when he first realised that he was being welcomed into the team, but then he thought back to every experience that he had ever had with sorcerers. Even Gilli, who seemed innocent enough, had tried to kill him. He would have killed someone else, or at least, hurt someone in order to get the power the flow of their blood would give him. Merlin knew that he was more than a match for any sorcerer – his time in the cells had proven that and he had come a long way since that day – but he felt that it was something of a responsibility for him, something he had to do if it meant that magic couldn’t be used like that.

  
“And do you know what happens to the sorcerers you so helpfully take off the street?” This time, Merlin swallowed. Arthur either didn’t know himself or he had just refused to tell Merlin, but that was one part of their operation that seemed to have a hush about it. Merlin shifted under the gaze that he was being subjected to, feeling a slight blush working its way up his cheeks.

  
“No.” He eventually mumbled, and Kilgharrah let out a long breath.

  
“So for all you know, you could be sending them to their death?”

  
“No!” How he knew, Merlin wasn’t quite sure, but he just got the sense that the sorcerers were kept alive. He also had a feeling that if it was something unsavoury like that, Arthur would have found out and put a stop to it. He wasn’t the kind of man to just send people to their deaths, the fact that he had come back for Merlin when he realised that he had made a mistake was a clear sign of that. Kilgharrah looked at him long and hard, and Merlin realised with a start that the old man knew what happened next. When he prompted him, KiIgharrah smile slightly, clearly pleased that Merlin had picked up on that fact.

  
“You are right to think they are not killed. They have to have a magical artefact for their very first kill, something that can absorb the magic. Not all murderers are sorcerers. Once the first kill has been made, any subsequent ones allow the magic to go straight into the being. They are held in the cells for a length of time, the length depending on their power.”

  
Merlin nodded, not realising that he was holding his breath. That made sense, he had always wondered why Sigan and Alvarr had still been in the cells when he had arrived.

  
“If a sorcerer doesn’t get a new supply of magic, it starts to drain away. The stronger they are, the longer this takes, a powerful sorcerer can go for years without needing to kill. But when the magic drains, they almost go into withdrawal. They crave it, they need it. That is when they are taken from the cells and given to the Druids.”

  
“Wait, what?” Merlin exclaimed, sure that he must have misheard what had just been said. The Druids were magical beings, there was no way that someone such as Uther would have dealings with them. Kilgharrah fixed him with a stern look.

  
“To be a successful commander, one must see the big picture. Uther knows this, he knows that a sorcerer can’t be just let back out again even when their magic has been drained away. They are passed over to the Druids, who teach them the art of healing, peaceful methods for channelling magic. A sorcerer will never stop craving power once they have had a taste, but the Druids have found a way of obtaining that magic peacefully. They won’t be as powerful, but it would be enough to keep the craving at bay.”

  
“So there is another way of harnessing magic other than killing someone?” That wasn’t the main question that was burning on Merlin’s tongue, but he wasn’t sure whether the old man would appreciate him truly speaking his mind. What Merlin wanted to know more was why he had never been told that there was another way instead of living his life in fear. He had always been told that being a warlock was different, rare. Meaning that every other person he could sense with magic, he had always been wary of the fact that they might simply turn around and kill him for his power.

  
“Your power does not come from killing someone.” The old man stated simply, and Merlin ran a hand through his hair.

  
“Yeah, but I was born with it. So are witches. Meaning that there has to be a third way, what is it?”

  
“Bring me that plant over there.” Merlin started, glancing towards where the man was pointing and then back to Kilgharrah, wondering what on earth was going on. When he was subjected to a look that made him squirm, however, he sighed, climbing to his feet and picking up the plant. He put it down on the arm of Kilgharrah’s chair, but the old man shook his head.

  
“Hold it. Reach out with your magic towards it, what do you feel?” Merlin was hard pushed not to roll his eyes, but somehow he managed to refrain himself from doing so. Closing his eyes in an attempt to make it look like he was using magic, he felt foolish as he pushed tendrils of power towards the plant.

  
“I feel… a plant.”

  
“Concentrate, boy, this is not something for you to toy with.” The sharp rap of the old man’s stick across his knees made Merlin jump, a curse slipping from him. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to pretend this time, so instead took a deep breath, eyes locked on the green foliage in front of him. Exhaling slowly, he could feel the burn in his eyes as his magic escaped him, but to his surprise, that wasn’t all that was happening. His magic was leaving him, but he was also getting something back. He could barely feel it thanks to his own power, but there was definitely something there. Something that was coming from the plant itself. Drawing back from the magic, he put the pot down before staring at Kilgharrah in surprise. The old man nodded approvingly

  
“Everything natural has its own kind of magic. That is why taking a life releases that power, even a human life force is magical. Plants and nature cannot give the same power as ending a life, but the Druids are strict in their methods. They teach the reformed sorcerer how to take the magic from the air around them, but in such a way that the sorcerer would only ever be able to use his magic for good, to heal and such like.”

  
“How do they stop them from just killing everyone there?” It wasn’t a question that Merlin wanted to ask, but it didn’t seem to make sense. Alvarr had been bloodthirsty when Merlin had met him, he didn’t see how that would just change because his magic had been drained. Surely it would make him worse, the man knowing what power he could have and not being able to get it.

  
“Like I said, the Druids are strict in their methods. They have been building on their power for generations, they would rival even you. The sorcerer is given to them weak and without magic, and they control how and when they are given some power. It doesn’t take long for someone to come around to their way of thinking.”

  
Merlin nodded slowly, his mind whirring as he tried to process all that he had just been told. All those years of not knowing, no one telling him what was really going on. He had thought that he was the odd one out by having magic. The fact that there was such a complex system in place to make sure that magic couldn’t be used for evil and that there were teams of people roaming the streets to stop those obtaining it in the wrong way.

  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He blurted out, not able to keep the accusing note from his voice. He didn’t have to have been alone for all this time, he could have found the Druids, allowed them to teach him…

“Your destiny is greater than that.”

  
“So what about the Resistance?” Right now, Merlin didn’t want to talk about his destiny, despite that being the reason why he had come to the old man in the first place. Thinking of his destiny made him think of Arthur, and Merlin didn’t want to be distracted considering what he was already learning. He had found out more about what was going on in the last six minutes than he had in the last six months, and that had been living the life that was now being described to him.

 

“What about them?”

  
“Are they the good guys, wanting magic to be free the way they do?” If he was honest, Merlin knew that this was a question that had been playing in his mind for a long time. Arthur saw them as the enemy, but considering what Morgause had done to him, that was no surprise. But Merlin had magic himself, should he be working with them rather than against them?

  
“How are they trying to bring that about?”

  
“By obtaining as much magic as they can?”

  
“And are they doing that in the Druids style, or by killing?” Merlin knew there and then that he had his answer. Maybe one day magic would be free, but Morgana’s way was not how it should come about. It shouldn’t be taken by force, and it certainly shouldn’t come about by violence. Having had his magic since he was born, Merlin could see the beauty in it in a way that he wasn’t sure others could, apart from perhaps the Druids. She should be embracing that, showing the world that it was not something to be feared, but something to be shown off, used for good. Until she changed her methods to bring magic back out into the open, Merlin would continue to fight her.

“Besides, she is not the one to bring magic back.” Kilgharrah muttered. He was beginning to stand up now, leaning heavily on his stick as he did so. Merlin knew that he was about to be dismissed, sent away with his head buzzing with far more questions than he had arrived with, but for once, he didn’t mind. At least the old man had actually given him something to think about rather than just riddles that he could make no sense of.

  
“What do you mean?” Merlin began to stand up himself, knowing how forceful Kilgharrah could be when he had decided that he had had enough. Merlin always used to think that it was part of the mystery that surrounded the man, but as he had grown older, he realise that it was just Kilgharrah’s personality rather than anything magical. The realisation had been both a disappointment and an eye-opener to the fact that despite everything, Kilgharrah was still just human.

  
“Your destiny is not just a person, Merlin, it is a goal, an end to be working towards. You and the young commander shall be the ones to bring magic back out into the open, not that witch.” Merlin didn’t blink at the fact that Kilgharrah knew that Morgana was a witch, but did find that his mouth had fallen open in surprise. He had thought that it was just chance that him and Arthur had met, even more of a coincidence that they had then proceeded to fall for each other. It had never crossed his mind that they were actually destined to do something together other than find other uses for Arthur’s bed.

  
“So I’ll get back to him then?” Yet again, Merlin sounded his age, but more than anything, he wanted the old man to tell him that this parting was not going to be forever, that somehow he would end up back in Arthur’s arms. Kilgharrah shot him an amused look.

  
“I think your heart can tell you that, not me. Now, begone, boy.” Merlin waved goodbye and meandered out of the house without a backwards glance. But he didn’t get very far, leaning heavily on Kilgharrah’s fence as his mind tried to process what he had just been told. So much of it was completely new to him, things that he was ashamed to say that he had never truly thought about. It had never crossed his mind that there might be a third way of having magic, something that wasn’t so black and white.

  
Maybe he was doing the right thing with working with Arthur and his team after all? He wasn’t just going after the people that were using magic, he was going after the ones that were using it in the wrong way. He was stopping those who were using it to hurt people and giving them the chance to use it for something good.

Huffing to himself slightly, Merlin found that there was a small smile on his face as he began to walk back towards the house. He wondered how much of this Gwen had been aware of, and what the look on his mother’s face would be like when he told her that after all of these years, he had actually found his destiny rather than it being something in his imagination. Maybe, for the first time ever, he did truly know what his magic was being used for?

 

  
MMM

  
“I just don’t understand why we aren’t waiting for Merlin and Gwen to get back.” Gwaine declared loudly, annoyance in his voice from where he was sprawled across the floor. The rest of the team were standing around him, Percival and Lancelot also sitting down. But Elyan, Leon and Arthur were going through their weaponry as Arthur had explained his latest plan to go after Morgana. He might not have got the chance to tell them in the way that he had planned after Merlin had agreed to help, but just because they were missing the warlock didn’t mean that he was going to change his mind. The Resistance were growing stronger every day, and he knew that before long, they wouldn’t be able to even get close, let alone stop them.

  
“Because we don’t know when, if at all, they are coming back.” Arthur snapped, Lancelot wincing at the blunt tone to Arthur’s voice. Whilst Lance was something of a romantic when it came to how he felt about Gwen, Arthur didn’t have the same tact. It was obvious that it was hurting him that Merlin had been forced to run just after they had settled into something of a regular life – well, regular for the team, anyway – but rather than admitting that it hurt, he was instead taking it out on those around him. It was for that reason why Gwaine was refusing to simply go along with a plan that could get them all killed, just because his commander was emotional.

  
“And you said it yourself, you only thought that we had a chance going against them because we had Merlin. Would you really go against a sorcerer without some form of anti-magic on you? No. It would be suicide.”  
“Gwaine has a point, Arthur,” Percival interrupted gently, knowing that his fellow soldier didn’t always have the right tact in order to calm Arthur down. He was more likely to get Arthur fired up and claim that he was going to do this whole mission by himself at this rate. “You wouldn’t go into battle without best form of defence. We need Merlin.”

  
“Who, it might have escaped your notice, is gone.” Arthur spat, throwing down the gun that he had been cleaning and spinning around to face his men, sparks flying from his eyes. Elyan’s hand slipped slightly and Leon swallowed, none of them having seen Arthur in a temper like this for a long time. The men shared looks, but then Elyan stepped forward.

  
“We know, mate, we’re all going to miss him. But that isn’t a reason for you to get us all killed. Merlin’s going to want to have his team still in one piece when he gets back.” Elyan made a gesture as if he was going to rest his hand on Arthur’s shoulder, but then thought better of it and awkwardly dropped it back to his side again, hoping no one had seen.

  
“If he gets back.” Arthur muttered, but the anger in his voice was giving way to pain slightly.

  
“Of course he will.” Gwaine responded flippantly, shifting until there was a pillow resting more comfortably behind his head. “After all, he has spent six months living with the team that should be hunting his arse down. Aredian won’t find anything, Gwen would have got them out. He’ll be back before you know it, and Percival will be moaning that there will be a new high score to beat and everything will go back to normal.”

  
“Unless the Resistance catch up with him first. Aggravaine fed them enough information for them to know to go to Merlin’s flat, what else do you think they know about him? If they get hold of him, he’s as good as lost to us. They’ll force him to join him or they will tear him to shreds to get at his magic.” Everyone purposefully ignored the way that Arthur’s voice trembled a little at his words. It was a reality that they knew could potentially come true if Merlin wasn’t careful. Enough of the sorcerers had seen him and gotten a taste of what his power would be like by now.

  
“So what do we do, we can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Lancelot exclaimed, sounding emotional as he jumped to his feet and started pacing. It was so unlike the man that it helped calm Arthur down, realising that he wasn’t the only one missing someone that they loved. If anything, Lance was giving up more – Gwen didn’t have to go, she could have stayed here with them, with her fiancée. Instead, she had chosen to go, chosen to help protect a friend. Arthur tried to calm himself down, knowing that he wasn’t the only one hurting.

  
But before anything else could be said, the commander’s phone rang. A hush fell across the room as Arthur answered it, sound professional and therefore giving away that it was his father on the line. They could only watch as the colour drained from Arthur’s face and he sat down shakily on one of the arms of the chair, running a hand through his hair even as he muttered his confirmation that he understood what was going on and hung up. He didn’t inform his team of anything as he put the phone away, stood up and double locked the door. Only when the satisfying click sounded throughout the room did he turn to face them.  
“There has been a mass breakout from the cells. Everyone that was in there, Gilli, Sigan’s still there, Darg… they’re all out.”

  
“How?” Gwaine yelled, sitting up and shrugging off the comforting hand that Percival tried to place on his shoulder. It was his turn to have sparks flying from his eyes, but Arthur could only shrug, looking tired as he sunk into his usual seat, running his hand over his eyes.

  
“It must be Aggravaine. He is the only one that has access to those cells, the only one that could get anywhere near the controls for the door to lower the anti-magic. No one would question him being there.”

  
“Your uncle, Sir, is a complete bastard.” Gwaine muttered, standing up and going to stand by the window. No one approached though, they all had too many questions and fears of their own running through their minds in order to try and comfort Gwaine.

  
“Tell me about it.”

  
“So what do we do? Arthur, what do we do?” Leon pressed, even the usually untouchable man being ruffled by the knowledge that everyone they had helped put away was out and free once again. Not to mention if it was Aggravaine that was behind the escapes, they could have potentially been provided with the team’s address and be on their way here right now, seeking revenge. Arthur was silent for a few moments, his mind clearly racing as he tried to think about what needed to be done. It was hard though – five minutes ago, he was too worried about Merlin to think of anything else. Now, everything could be crumbling down around them. Going against the sorcerers one at a time had been dangerous enough, their tactics weren’t designed to deal with a vast number of them.

  
“First, we get Gaius to safety. He’s a potential target there, especially if any of them know that he was the one that saved my life after Morgause and still continues to work with us now. Not to mention he was going to look into Aggravaine for us. They’ll kill him if they suspect him of anything, even if it is just a way of getting to us.”

  
“And after we’ve got him out?” Gwaine asked quietly, turning to face Arthur. There was a glint in the man’s eye, the same sort of fiery determination that Arthur could feel bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. Gwaine was not just going to sit here and watch as all of their work came undone just because someone was betraying them. Arthur grinned, an almost feral look that indicated that he was feeling exactly the same thing.

  
“Then we go after Aggravaine. He’s the one who has done this, he is the one that has caused Merlin and Gwen to leave. I think it is about time he answered for that, don’t you, lads?”

  
The agreement coming from the men was so heartfelt that Arthur couldn’t help but smile. No one threatened a member of their team and got away with it. Despite the fact that they should be fighting against Merlin rather than with him, not one single man in this room would deny that the warlock had become part of their team.

  
Something the Round Table were known for was protecting their own. Aggravaine would be made to pay for the part he had played in all of this. And after Aggravaine, Arthur couldn’t help but think as he watched his men spring into action, he had a sister to sort out.


	26. Chapter 26

The corridor was cool and dimly lit as Morgause strode along it, but torches flickered into life at her passing. The whole place was a rundown castle, set just outside of Camelot. It was dark, drafty and cold, not to mention the whole place could potentially be brought down in the next storm. Yet the witch found that moving was not something she wanted to do. It was the perfect base for the Resistance, and although electricity now was fed to it since it had been made a tourist attraction, Morgause liked having torches burning in the corridors.

It was the perfect irony really. By opening it up as a tourist attraction, the very government that she was planning to bring crashing down was bringing money into the castle. It was amazing how many people didn’t notice the odd note here and there go missing, but magic had its uses. They never took enough that people noticed they had been robbed, just the odd thing here and there. It gave them enough money for the things that magic couldn’t provide and even had some on the side to fund Morgana’s shopping sprees.

Thinking of her sister made Morgause smile even as her pace picked up. That had certainly been the best moment of her life when she had taken both of the Pendragon offspring from under their father’s nose. It was a shame that Arthur had been returned back to the commander, but he hadn’t escaped unscathed and that was enough for Morgause for now. She would get her hands on him again, and this time, he wouldn’t be so lucky.

Whereas thinking of Morgana made her smile, thinking of Arthur caused a scowl to cross her face. The young man was the only reason that Morgana still seemed to be holding back. Morgause had wanted to go after him the day he had escaped, knowing how weak he would be. All they would have needed was for Uther to see how much pain Arthur was in, and then they could have finished him off. But Morgana had hesitated, she had refused to deliver the final blow. Morgause knew that it had to be her sister that did it, Morgana had to seal her own fate into the Resistance, and killing Arthur was the only way.

Yet even now, years later, she still refused to do it. Arthur would say that they tried regularly considering the amount of sorcerers they let roam the streets. It wasn’t just coincidence that they always turned up on the commander’s radar. They were the ones who had accepted the “honour” of being the one to kill the Pendragon brat. Yet he and his damn team were always victorious. Morgause was a patient woman, she knew that his time would come. But what worried her was the satisfied smile on Morgana’s face as they received news that yet another of their men had been captured. It was almost as if she was impressed by how long Arthur could hold out for, and that worried her sister.

Although Morgause knew that it wouldn’t be for long now. Their plans had escalated when they had received confirmation that Arthur’s views on magic weren’t as straightforward as they had thought and there was a warlock with the team. Aggravaine had opened the cells as instructed the night before, and then had all but fled straight into their arms. His soft spot for Morgana made him so easy to manipulate, meaning Morgause tolerated the man. If she was honest, the fewer people related to Arthur in some way in the Resistance, the better, but it had been helpful having someone on the inside once Morgana had been forced to flee.

They hadn’t given their escaped sorcerers any specific instructions, knowing that someone would return to the castle in the hope of gaining some sort of reward for their “sacrifice.” It wasn’t those that Morgause was interested in, however, it was the ones that would immediately try and seek revenge on the unit who had put them away in the first place. The craving for power would mean that the Round Table would make a good target – more than one man there to drain. She wanted to know if any of them would be successful. She didn’t really care what happened to the team, she just wanted to be the one to get hold of Arthur. It _had_ to be Morgana who did the final deed, or her loyalties might forever be torn.

The younger witch would never admit to any sibling related feelings for her brother, and she was always adamant that she was on Morgause side completely. The blonde didn’t question that, she knew how devoted Morgana was to her, but she did wonder who Morgana would chose if it was between Morgause and Arthur. But right now, they just had to get hold of the commander, something that was proving troublesome. Morgana had even gone as far as removing her bracelet, hoping the dreams would return and she would be given a glimpse of how they would bring about his downfall.

Quickening her step, Morgause hurried towards where her sister had been resting. The problem with the castle being open during the day, they had been forced to take obscure chambers, the ones that were still sealed off, to avoid being detected, and Morgause hated how long it took to get from one end of the castle to the other. But finally, the door came into view and Morgause schooled her expression into one of neutrality, making sure that her sister saw nothing of her doubts. Before she could reach the door, however, it crashed open from within.

“Morgana?” Morgause hurried the last few steps, taking her sister’s hands in one of her own and cupping her face with the other. Morgana’s hair was wild and her clothes were crumpled, a clear sign that she had been resting. But her eyes were bright and gleaming, and Morgause could only hope that it would be good news.

“What is it, what did you see? How does Arthur’s downfall come about?”

“I don’t know yet, sister,” Morgana admitted, dropping her eyes slightly. Morgause bit back the sigh of frustration, wondering whether Morgana would tell her even if she did know. But then her sister looked back up again, a smile threatening to ruin the calm look she had been attempting to maintain.

“What is it?” Morgause pushed, finding that she simply needed to know. Now that they had escalated things, she had to be on top of her game, she had to know whether Morgana saw anything that would potentially cause problems.

“The warlock.”

“The boy? What about him?”

“He will join us.”

It wasn’t often that Morgause was caught off guard, but that announcement caused her jaw to drop in astonishment. She had always assumed that Arthur had got to the boy somehow, that they would have to annihilate him rather than being able to persuade him to join their cause. But if Morgana had indeed seen something…

“What was it, what did you see?” Morgana took her arm and the two woman began to walk down the corridor. They were a complete contrast to each other. Morgause’ long blonde hair was flowing behind her and her dress swirled around her ankles with each step that she took. Morgana, however, was dressed in fitted clothing, jeans tucked into high boots and a top that showed off her figure. Her hair was tied back and a modern day necklace contrasted with her magical bracelet.  Morgause hated to admit it, but each time she glanced at her sister, she was forced to remember how Morgana was brought up, the fact that she was effectively an army girl – in the same way that her father and brother also had army instincts.

“We had Arthur, do not ask me how, that has not yet made itself clear to me. We had him locked up in the same room we kept him before. He was standing, his arms tied to the ceiling.” There was a faraway look in Morgana’s eye as she recalled her dream. “Alvarr wanted to whip him, wanted to make an impression. The boy stopped him… and volunteered himself to do it.”

“This is good news indeed.” Morgause couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it was good that they had waited for all of this time to get their hands on Arthur, maybe they could make yet another person he cared about turn against him. “I think it is time to bring in the good commander, don’t you, Sister?”

Morgana simply smiled and the two changed direction, heading for where they would be able to send messages to all of their sorcerers still out on the street. Arthur had avoided them for too long, but not this time. His team might be good, but Morgause was convinced that even the famous Round Table couldn’t go against the Resistance’s full strength.

It was about time he stopped winning. It was someone else’s turn.

MMM

Merlin had spent all of that evening diving into his magic, trying to work out what it was that he could feel. Now that Kilgarrah had opened his eyes to the fact that everything had magic, he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. Every household plant, every bush in their garden – much to his mother’s exasperation, Merlin wondered around the house with his eyes burning and occasionally sparks of magic jumping through the air.

“I take it you have gotten used to this?” Hunith eventually asked Gwen, noting the way that the girl was simply curled up with a heavy book, completely ignoring the way that the lampshade was floating past her head.

“Arthur wouldn’t let him hide his magic away, things floating became the norm. It was normally Merlin floating things out of Arthur’s reach just to wind him up, or clothing being rem…” Gwen stopped, going scarlet as she realised what she had just said.

“I mean… not that they, but they…”

“It’s quite alright, dear. Considering my son has not stopped talking about this great Arthur Pendragon, I had already guessed that clothing might have been optional during some of their interactions.” Gwen’s blush calmed down slightly, but she still refused to meet Hunith’s eyes. The woman chuckled, leaning over and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

“I assure you, it’s quite alright. There were certain things that I was forced to talk to my son about when he got to a certain age. The slight drawback of being a single parent, there was never a father to take the role.”

“I was the other way around, I never had a mother.” Gwen said softly, her eyes following the spiral of petals that were dancing in the air in front of her as Merlin walked past again, muttering something about prats, destinies and plants.

“Well, you’ve always got me now, you know.” Hunith didn’t seem to really notice what she had said so casually as she gave the girl’s shoulder another squeeze and walked off back towards the kitchen.

“Merlin, would you set the table, please? Without, oh never mind.” Hunith’s words were stolen from her before she even said them. Merlin simply turned his flashing eyes onto the drawer and plates and cutlery floated out and began to set themselves on the table at the correct places.

“I’ll never get used to that.” Hunith muttered, turning away again. For years, she had spent the time telling Merlin that his magic couldn’t be used, that he had to stay hidden. Not only from other sorcerers, but from a particular army unit as well. Now, he not only took on sorcerers and won with the control he had over his power, he was deeply involved with that unit. She should have known – if anyone would break all the normal rules, it would be Merlin. After all, he had been doing it since birth.

Merlin blinked, finally drawing back the magic and stumbling slightly when he realised how late it had got. It was like he had been in a world of his own for this entire time. Using magic took him away from wherever he was at the time, it caused the world to stop moving so fast and everything be bent to his will. He could only feel how natural it felt to him, that it was something precious and beautiful. But he had to admit, he could see where Kilgharrah had been coming from. He was almost drunk on the magic; it gave him such a rush of being alive. No wonder people were prepared to kill for it; it was more intoxicating than any drug.

“You okay?” Gwen seemed to have noticed his stumble, and when Merlin looked at her, her hand was once again playing with the ring around her neck. He sighed, nodding as he moved over to sit down next to her.

“Has there been any other word?”

“Nothing.” They both knew that that was a good thing. The unit would find a way to get a message to them if something had gone seriously wrong, knowing that they would need to know. If something happened, they would need Merlin’s power in order to get them out of it. Yet it wasn’t easy simply sitting here, almost as if the past six months hadn’t happened. How would they be able to just carry on like Merlin had never entered their lives? In a way, Merlin knew it would be easier for them than him. They just had to adapt, he had to once again turn his whole life around and go back to simply blending in.

“Hey,” Gwen’s hand was suddenly covering his, holding it gently. “He loves you. He is going to do anything to get you back. Don’t worry, they won’t go on without us. They’ll know that we’ll kick their asses if they do.”

Merlin chuckled slightly, returning the grip on his hand. He was now more glad than ever that she had come with him. There was no way that he would have even made it to Ealdor without her, but even if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to keep himself feeling positive.

“Well, I will…”

“Oi, you haven’t seen my dropkick. Lance knows to fear it. Besides, we do have another advantage over them.”

“We do?”

“No sex if we’re not there.” This time, it was Merlin’s turn to go bright red, spluttering even as Gwen laughed lightly, getting up and going to help Hunith with dinner. Watching them for a long moment, Merlin had to smile even as the colour on his cheeks began to cool. He definitely couldn’t have done it without Gwen.

Dinner was an easy affair, and the rest of the evening was just as pleasant. They didn’t mention the army, they didn’t talk about magic. Instead, they all just crashed out in front of the TV, letting a sense of normality enter their hectic lives.

Merlin was half asleep, an empty mug clutched in his hand when Hunith bid them goodnight. He offered a sleepy mumble as an answer, causing his mother to chuckle and drop a kiss onto his messy hair with the instructions to not stay up too late. Merlin was with it enough to recognise that there was a stunned look on Gwen’s face as the same thing was done to her, and he laughed softly as he flicked between the channels. He didn’t intend stopping on the news, but Gwen’s sudden intake of breath caused his finger to slip and he missed the button. Glancing at her, Merlin was astonished to see how pale she had gone, and felt any traces of sleepiness disappear as he turned back to the television, turning up the volume as he did so.

“…at least high security prisoners have been reported to have escaped. Officials have warned not to approach them, that they are armed and highly dangerous.”

Merlin glanced between the TV and back to Gwen, turning towards her even as he turned the volume back down.

“Don’t worry, we’re always getting news like that around. After that dropkick you were telling me about, you don’t have anything to fear from ordinary…”

“Merlin, that’s the barracks. That is where I grew up.” Merlin’s attempt to reassure her died in her throat as he glanced back at the screen. Gwen, however, wasn’t finished.

“They are talking about the cells, I just know they are. See that man there?” The camera had cut to an interview taking place with a tall man with black hair. His eyes made Merlin shudder, for they seemed to just be pits of darkness, no emotion being shown.

“That’s Aggravaine.”

“As in…”

“As in the man that the team believe are betraying them, yes.” Merlin felt the colour drain from his face the way that it had done for Gwen’s. If the breakout had happened from the cells, Arthur could be in danger. If they knew where to find him… Glancing back at the television, Merlin swallowed hard as something else made itself known.

“Look at the lighting behind him. This was filmed much earlier today, early afternoon perhaps. He would have run by now if he was the one behind it, he could have led them straight to Arthur.”

Gwen swore under her breath as she realised that Merlin was right. By having the interview with Aggravaine playing, it was a simply way for people not to suspect him, it looked like he was still there. But Merlin had learnt a lot from his time with the army, he knew that it was just tricks played so people didn’t get suspicious about the fact that it could have potentially been an inside job.

“We have to get back.” Merlin jumped up as he spoke, all traces of sleepiness vanished as he realised that Arthur could be in danger. “We have to get to them, we have to help.”

“Merlin, stop.” Gwen reached up, grabbed onto his wrist and with a surprising amount of force for someone so gentle, pulled him back down again. “We wait for them to signal us. We can’t go rushing in, they might be fine.”

“Or they might be dead.”

“Meaning we will be too late anyway.”

“How can you be so calm?” Merlin cried, standing up again. Gwen let him this time, realising that he needed to move around. Merlin was never one to sit still at the best of times, let alone when something was upsetting him.

“Because I have to be.” Gwen practically shouted back, that very same calmness slipping as her hand went to her ring again. “Don’t think you are the only one worried, I’m supposed to be planning my wedding right now. But if we go back, it might just confirm their suspicions about you. Had it crossed your mind they might go after Arthur just to get at you, that they will leave them be when the rumours are proven false that they have a warlock with them?”

Merlin simply stared at her. He knew that she had a point, that she was the one who had been raised in the army, had dated Arthur and was engaged to Lancelot. She knew what she was doing far more than he did, but that didn’t mean that he liked the fact that he had to just stay hidden when Arthur could be in danger.

“So what do we do?” He finished off helplessly, running a hand through his hair and beginning to pace. “We can’t just do nothing.”

“Nor are we going to. Right now, we need to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we train and you go back to that old man of yours and see if he has any answers for you. We keep ourselves packed and alert, ready to move at a moment’s notice. But you can’t make contact, Merlin, you could be putting him in more danger. We wait for their signal.”

“Right… so, sleep?” Merlin didn’t realise how lost he sounded until Gwen stood up and pulled him into a hug.

“Sleep. But promise me, Merlin. Promise me on everything that Arthur means to you that you won’t do anything rash?”

Merlin promised, and the pair headed upstairs without another word. But half an hour later, lying in his small bed and gazing out of the window so that he could see the moon, Merlin sighed. He wondered whether Gwen would be angry at him for crossing his fingers during that promise, or whether because of her own feelings for Lancelot, she would be able to let it go just this one. He wasn’t planning anything yet, not tonight. But neither was Merlin going to just keep out of the way and let Arthur be hurt. He had done that once before, and Will had been tortured to death.

He was a warlock for a reason, he had to be. And if he couldn’t use his magic to protect those he loved, then what was the point?

MMM

“How long can we hold them off for?”

Arthur shook his head at Gwaine’s shout, helping Percival barricade the door a little more. They were running out of things to block it with though considering the magic that was being flung at it with great force. None of them had touched the anti-magic tonics yet though. Not only could they brace themselves against a magical throw more successfully than they had been able to before thanks to their training with Merlin, the tonics only had a thirty minute lifespan once drunk. The team were saving them until the door gave way completely, instead positioning themselves the best they could.

Arthur knew that they weren’t going to win this one though. They too had witnessed the news report, but even as it had come to a close, Lancelot’s laptop had started beeping at him. The others didn’t need to ask to know what it meant. Someone had given away their location, and right now, they six angry sorcerers outside of the door. Alvarr, Sigan, Darg, a brute of the name of Hengist and a highly accomplished murdered called Myror. But it was the last one that Arthur was most concerned about. He had had a run in with Mordred before, and knew that the boy’s power almost rivalled Merlin’s considering his age. They had had just enough time to form a barrier over the door – another one of Lance’s amazing devices that he and Merlin had been working on. At the press of a button, a shield erupted. But Merlin had enhanced it with magic – meaning that to get in, the sorcerers first had to get past the power of a warlock.

But the shield was flickering. All of the Round Table were armed and ready to fight, but that didn’t mean that they would be successful. It was practically going to be one on one this time around, and Arthur knew that was not where their strength rested. They worked as a unit, knowing how to blend together in order to combine their talents. If the sorcerers attacked one at a time, they would be fine. But like this, the team were weak.

“We need Merlin!”

“He’s not here!” Arthur was hard pushed not to roll his eyes at Gwaine and Percival, knowing that they were only trying to deal with the stress of the situation. It wasn’t particularly helpful though, not when he had been thinking the same thing himself. With a warlock on their side, they would have had a chance. If nothing else, Merlin would have been able to hold the others off whilst the team dealt with the threat one at a time.

“Arthur?” Yells had been echoing around the flat ever since the pounding on the door had started. But it was because Leon spoke so quietly that Arthur turned, making sure that his gun stayed trained on the door now that he was back in position.

“You should send the signal.”

“It will get them killed if they come here.”

“You don’t know that,” Leon argued, his eyes calm and calculating even in the face of such danger. “We don’t stand a chance, I know that you know that. But Morgause will want you alive. Send the signal and Merlin might be able to get you out again. If he doesn’t know that we are under attack, then he won’t come, Gwen won’t let him.”

Arthur hated the way his second in command was speaking. It didn’t escape his attention that Leon had claimed that Morgause would want the commander alive, but had seemed to leave it unsaid that the rest of them would be killed. Arthur hated it, hated it that he knew that the man was potentially right and that as hard as they were all going to fight, there was possible nothing that he would be able to do about it. Glancing once more at the door to see if he had time, Arthur nodded curtly.

He and Leon switched positions smoothly as Leon covered him. Arthur dug out his phone and began entering a series of passwords. In general, his phone was just like any other. But when he went deeper, it became something of a weapon. It was much harder to trace when he used it like this, and no magic could be used to interrupt the signal halfway. It was one of the most advanced pieces of technology that the army had, but Arthur cursed under his breath as it seemed to take forever to do what he wanted it to.

Eventually though, the message was ready to be sent. It was in strict military code, Arthur knowing that Gwen would be able to decipher it even if Merlin had forgotten everything they had tried to teach him. Yet Arthur couldn’t stop himself putting a small x at the end, hoping that the warlock knew what it meant. Arthur had so many things he wanted to say, and yet was restricted to praying that one small letter got across everything on his mind. The door was beginning to give way as the message was sending, and Arthur ended up having to put it on the floor in order to ready his gun again, wanting to make sure that he was armed and ready.

It finally beeped, the noise almost silent compared to the other sounds that were drowning out his senses. Arthur glanced at it, relieved to see that the message had sent and swallowed hard. At that moment, the door came crashing down in a pile of wood and smoke, and Arthur felt himself switch completely back into commander mode.

Now the fight for not only his life, but that of his men’s as well had truly begun.


	27. Chapter 27

Percival watched the door without blinking, eyes trained on a certain spot as he made sure that his weapon was also pointing that way. He was over to one side, out of the direct eye line for whoever came through that door first, putting him in both one of the safest and the most dangerous positions. It was safe because the sorcerers would see the reset of the team first; any initial magic would be flung their way. But whilst they were distracted, Percival would be the one trying to get in a few shots for their own team. The danger was, as soon as they realised where the fire was coming from, he was out on his own. He knew that his team wouldn’t let them do anything to him, not without fighting back with everything they had, but that didn’t make it any easier to be the one sitting here.

He shifted slightly, caught Arthur’s eye and stilled. He had opted for this position; he had volunteered to be the sideman. It normally fell to him, after all. With being the team’s designated driver, he often had to watch the action from the side and just wait to be called. As the door shuddered under the onslaught of magic, Percival found that his finger was tightening on the trigger, yet he was perfectly in control. He couldn’t shoot too soon, or their plan would be gone before it had even started. He wasn’t naïve; he knew that they didn’t stand a chance. But they could at least go down fighting.

Despite the fact that everyone in the room was poised and ready to go, it took a while before the door finally gave way. If he was honest, Percival was disappointed. He expected it to suddenly break away from its hinges, go flying across the room or something dramatic like that, but instead, it just seemed to sag. Not that he had any time to spend thinking about the door, however, for the second that there was a gap; the sorcerers started forcing their way through.

Every muscle in the soldier’s body tensed as he made sure that he couldn’t be seen. It was so hard to not just start open firing, force these men out from his home in order to protect his friends. But it would all be in vain if he acted too soon, he had to wait for them to all be in the room and past him before he started shooting, or he wouldn’t be able to get a single hit in, let alone be able to do anything of any use.

His eyes were narrowed and his body rigid as Percival practically held his breath. There was only one more to step into the room, one more to take just a few steps past him and he would be able to start doing what it was that he did best. He would be able to show that he was not the same man that had been driven from his home after sorcerers had taken everything from him. He was someone that sorcerers should be afraid of, not the other way around.

Percival had his eyes locked on the last man that came through the door, knowing that he was the one that he had to focus his attention on. Depending on who came through in which order determined which soldier they would be faced with. It was a brute of a man; someone that Percival knew had a gang somewhere before he had been caught. But as he silently moved from his hiding place and circled around them, Percival pushed all other thoughts from his mind, raised his gun and fixed it on Hengist’s back.

Firing the gun four times in quick succession, Percival dropped into a roll and moved across to the other side of the room. He cursed when he saw that Hengist had clearly been prepared for anything to be fired at his back and a shield rippled into life, all of the soldier’s bullets dropping neatly to the floor before they even touched the man. Percival glared as the sorcerer turned to face him, a sneer on his face even as yells filled the air as everyone else found themselves engaged in the fight.

Dropping the clip from the gun, Percival reloaded, his eyes never straying from Hengist even as the man took a step towards him. He cursed as his fingers slipped slightly on the weapon, costing him a few precious seconds. By the time the clip was in place and he had leapt to his feet, Hengist was right in front of him. Glaring, Percival raised the gun, letting it rest between the man’s eyes as they both stared at each other.

“Oh come now, you wouldn’t, would you?”

“I would.” Percival’s voice was just as quiet as Hengist’s and he already felt his finger beginning to tighten on the trigger. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the others fighting. All he had to do was get rid of this one and he would be able to join them, able to help out his friends and turn the odds back in their favour.

“Who says that I will let you?” Despite all of the training Merlin had put them through in regards to withstanding magical attacks, Percival didn’t even have time to brace himself before he was violently flung across the room. The gun clattered from his hand as he hit the opposite wall, Hengist following him almost leisurely. Percival tried to get to his feet, but the man simply flicked his hand and he was sent sprawling again, feeling like there was a great weight pressing on his chest.

Gasping, Percival tried to move away, tried to do something, but he couldn’t escape the sensation. It was crushing down on him, making breathing more than difficult as the corners of his vision began to dim slightly.

“You might not, but I would.” Hengist muttered, crouching down beside him and resting his hand on Percival’s forehead. The last thing that the soldier saw was the man’s glowing eyes before everything went black.

MMM

Elyan had made sure that he had positioned himself by his weapons cabinet and that the door was open, meaning that he had easy access to whatever it was that he wanted. But he had also made sure that if he needed to, he could close it again with one tap. It would automatically lock, and thanks to Merlin, not even magic would be able to get it open again.

He already had a small gun in his hand, but as the door was forced, he changed his mind. Reaching in, he grabbed something much larger and much more powerful, waiting until Percival had made his move before firing. Even as his friend was thrown across the room, Elyan fired. An almighty flare shot from his gun, exploding in the middle of the room into a huge ball of light. The rest of his unit had seen what he had picked up and therefore braced themselves, but the sorcerers were momentarily blinded.

If they had had more time, the team would have taken that opportunity to move in, even if it was just to get Hengist away from Percival. But someone – it was hard to tell who when you couldn’t really see anything – snarled a word and the light disappeared. Elyan wasted no time, but threw that gun aside and armed himself with another. He wouldn’t need to waste time reloading, he could just pick up another weapon. Over to one side, Arthur caught his eye and Elyan nodded, throwing his commander Arthur’s favourite gun before turning back.

“That really wasn’t very nice of you now, was it?” Elyan took a step back, raising his gun as Sigan stepped in front of him. The man’s black eyes were boring into Elyan’s very soul and he knew that he had to look away, he had to do something or he would be as helpless as the now unconscious Percival. Sigan had a way of capturing someone’s soul, making them just stand there and do nothing as he took everything from them. For a long moment, Elyan could only stand there, completely frozen.

But as a crash sounded from the other end of the room, he snapped out of it and jumped backwards with a snarl. He raised the gun one more time, but Sigan’s hand shot out. Elyan could feel the magic trying to tear it from his grasp and – thanking Merlin under his breath – he adjusted his position. His hand was relaxed, meaning there was nothing to force, yet his grip was secure and strong. Without hesitating again, he fired.

Sigan let out his own growl of anger as the bullet ripped through his shield, Elyan being too close for the magic to effectively hold off. As the man turned, cradling his shoulder, Elyan switched weapons again and advanced. He knew that if he could pass through the shield, then he would have a much greater chance of being able to take Sigan down. He raised his gun again, checking it carefully as he did so before bringing it to rest on Sigan’s neck. The man froze, and Elyan grinned.

“Take down everyone’s shields or I kill you.” His voice was low and in control, a sign that meant that he wouldn’t hesitate to do precisely as he had just threatened. Sigan seemed to stiffen.

“How about you back away before I kill you?”

“Who’s the one holding the gun, mate?” Sigan glared at him for a long moment and Elyan found that he had to smirk. There was something liberating in knowing that he could hold his own against a sorcerer. After all, it was because of them that he and his sister were orphans, that debt had to be repaid. Sigan moved before Elyan could process what was happening, his forearm coming up and tearing the gun out of the soldier’s grip. Using magic, he made it fly far beyond Elyan’s reach before drawing his knife. His eyes flash again and Elyan felt his feet be pulled out from under him.

He hit the floor hard, winded as he landed flat on his back. One hand shot out to the side as he made to reach for his gun, but Sigan’s foot came stamping down, resting over his wrist and therefore stopping the soldier from reaching his weapon. Elyan tried to pull free, but couldn’t prevent a gasp escaping him as Sigan dropped to his knees, straddling him as he brought the knife up to rest against Elyan’s throat.

“I wonder how much magic I would absorb if I drained your life from you right now?” Elyan growled, bucking upwards as he tried to dislodge the sorcerer, but Sigan had too much of a grip. No matter how much Elyan struggled, he could do nothing as the man brought his knife to Elyan’s forearm, almost lovingly drawing it across the skin.

The soldier yelled out in pain as he felt the hot trickle of blood running down his arm and Sigan’s smirked.

“Of course, I wouldn’t get anything from you until your life force leaves you, unlike that little warlock of yours where every cut meant magic being released. But I can make it quick – if you beg.”

“Go to hell.” Elyan spat, trying to twist away from the hold. Sigan shook his head and made another slice across the man’s arm before he suddenly hissed in fury.

“Anti-magic!”

Elyan didn’t have time to process what the man meant before Sigan stood up. Elyan barely even thought of moving before a foot collided with his head, knocking him out cold instantly. He had no idea that because of the tonics they had been taking for years, killing them would give the sorcerers nothing. They certainly wouldn’t be able to get any magic out of destroying this unit.

 

MMM

“Elyan!” Lancelot yelled as he saw two of his friends drop to the floor, especially when he caught sight of the knife in Sigan’s hand. He knew what that man was capable of, and fear for Elyan made him stumble towards the pair. Just as Sigan drew back, Lancelot was forced to a stop himself as Alvarr stepped in front of him.

“You don’t need to worry about them. You need to worry about yourself.” There was something deceptive about the man’s voice, something so smooth and charismatic. Lancelot knew that was how he not only got to his victims, but how he had risen to a position of leadership within the Resistance. It was said that he had even charmed Morgana herself for a short while until Morgause had reminded him of his place. Lancelot, however, just glared at the man.

“Maybe you should start worrying about yourself.” He muttered, raising his gun and quickly firing. He didn’t even know how Alvarr managed it, but the man almost seemed to melt out of the way of the bullets, bending over backwards so they simply shot over his head. Lancelot was sure the whole thing was happening in slow motion, time only resuming properly when the bullets thudded into the paintwork on the far wall. Lancelot blinked, casually changing the clip even as he kept a careful eye on Alvarr.

“What are you going to do to me? You can’t shoot me, you can’t stop me, you can’t…”

What Lancelot could do, however, was punch the man. Even as Alvarr continued to gloat, believing himself to be untouchable, the soldier’s fist swung. There was power behind his arm, meaning that Alvarr had no chance of keeping his feet as Lancelot’s fist connected with his face. As the man dropped, Lancelot, strode forward, his quick eyes working out what was going on with everyone else. Percival and Elyan were unconscious – he ignored the voice in the back of his head claiming they might be dead – but the others were still fighting. Lancelot knew they needed to find some way to group together rather than being picked off one by one, but for that to happen, he first needed to stop Alvarr being such a threat.

Lancelot stood over Alvarr, his feet pressing into the man’s side as he tried to hold him still with his gun aimed straight at the man’s head. He tried to keep his face calm and neutral in order to hide just how hard his heart was pounding, but he wasn’t sure if he was successful or not. Not if he took the sneer on Alvarr’s face into account.

“Do it, Lancelot. Prove that you can do something right, that you can step up to the mark rather than waiting for something to be thrown your way. That’s what happened with your little girlfriend, isn’t it? Not man enough to take her, you had to way until your _commander_ gave you permission to fuck his little whore.”

Lancelot growled, dropping to his knees and grabbing hold of Alvarr’s collar, pulling him up slightly. At the same time, he pressed the nuzzle of his gun against the man’s lips.

“Say that again.” He threatened, making it more than apparent that Alvarr would never be able to get the words out a second time. The sorcerer’s hand had closed around Lancelot’s, but he didn’t really seem to be trying to get the man to let go. It was almost as if he was holding on, daring the soldier to do something about the position they currently found themselves in.

“What are you going to do, Lancelot? Kill me?”

“You don’t think I can?”

“Not really. You’re too much of a gentle soul, someone that would never even think about raising a firearm until Pendragon made you. He corrupted you, soldier, he ruined your life.”

“Shut up.”

“Ooh, did I touch a nerve?” Lancelot’s temper got the better of him, yet he couldn’t help feeling a certain amount of satisfaction as he punched the man again. But that was what Alvarr had been counting on, especially considering the way that the hand holding the gun slackened slightly as Lancelot tensed the other arm. Yet again, time almost seemed to stop, and by the time Lancelot next blinked, their positions had been reversed.

He was on his back, Alvarr standing over him. The gun had been forced from his hand and had ended up somewhere across the other side of the room, but Lancelot knew that it wouldn’t do him any good even if he had it in his hand. Alvarr’s fingertips were sparking with magic, and unlike the way Merlin’s seemed almost welcoming and warm, this was nothing short of cold. Lancelot shuddered, trying to move backwards and out of the way, but the sorcerer simply followed him. Eventually, Lance’s back hit the wall and he knew that there was nowhere else to go. Lashing out with his foot, he tried to hide the fear as Alvarr calmly stepped out of his way before crouching down next to him.

He whispered a word, and Lancelot’s teeth gritted as his hands shot in front of him, tendrils of magic wrapping around his wrists and binding them together. Seemingly satisfied that the man wouldn’t be trying anything again, Alvarr bent down. His hand moved forward and he almost tenderly brushed Lancelot’s hair back from his face.

“Such a pretty one. You shouldn’t be in this world, Lancelot, you should still be a journalist.” Lancelot didn’t say anything, but continued to try and pull away as Alvarr rested his hand on the top of his head. Just as he thought that he had managed it, that he had broken the man’s hold on him, a shot of magic shot from Alvarr into Lancelot.

The soldier’s face contorted with pain and he slumped where he was sitting. Unlike Elyan and Percival, he was still conscious, but found that he was unable to move or make a sound. The magic around his hands seemed to be keeping the spell active and he could only watch as Alvarr stepped away, smirking. His prisoner was helpless on the floor and therefore no longer his concern.

MMM

Unlike his friends, Gwaine wasn’t even looking to see what was going on with everyone else. His attention was purely locked on Darg. How many times had this man popped up just as his life was getting somewhere and brought everything crashing back down again? Gwaine knew that this fight was different from all the rest. It wasn’t about them trying to get to one another, Darg throwing insults about as Gwaine tried to take him down. It was more co-ordinated than that – it was an attack rather than just a fight.

Meaning the soldier had no intention of going down without making sure that Darg knew that he was messing with the wrong people. As soon as the sorcerer had come through the door, their eyes had locked, hatred spiralling deep within both of them towards the other. Gwaine’s hand had steadied on his gun, and even as the rest of the sorcerers started to go after their intended targets, Gwaine had steadily been shooting at his nemesis.

Unlike last time, he had checked for shields and other magical forms of protection. Whilst the flashing device on his wrist indicated that shields were indeed being used in the room, for some reason, Darg wasn’t one of them. Through things getting in the way and the sorcerer’s own skill/luck, he wasn’t hit as he continued to steadily approach Gwaine. The soldier ran out of ammunition at the exact moment Darg came to a stop in front of him, and for a long moment, the pair just stared at each other.

“You’re looking well.”

“You should be rotting in a cell.” Gwaine spat. At the back of his mind, he knew that was not what happened to the sorcerers they caught, that they were processed in some way that stopped them being a danger. But still, the thought of Darg spending the rest of his days in a tiny dark cell was enough to make Gwaine smile.

“Now, now, Gwaine, be nice. After all, you haven’t got anyone to provide back up for you now, have you?” Gwaine tried not to swallow too obviously, but glancing around, he felt a mixture of anger and concern shoot through him. Three members of the unit were down already, and the rest of the sorcerers were slowly beginning to advance on Arthur. Gwaine just had to take comfort from the fact he could see Lancelot stirring. If he hadn’t been killed, then the chances were that none of them would be.

“What are you going to get from this, Darg? It’s not like you have those crystals of yours anymore, you can’t use us to turn into anyone else.” The soldier tried to hold his ground as Darg took a step forward. For the first time ever, Gwaine was trying to use logic to get out of a problem rather than his fists.

“That is true. But of course, that is providing that I’m here for myself and not because I’m following orders.” Gwaine’s eyes narrowed as he realised that was Darg basically admitting to the fact that the Resistance were behind both the attack and the break out.

“Aggravaine?”

“Smart lad. Maybe you will get a mind of your own one of these days rather than always being the good little soldier.” Gwaine glared at the man who had torn his world apart all those years ago and found that his hand was going for his gun again before he truly knew what he was doing. Bullets were useless against Darg, he had proven that more than once, yet it was the only defence that Gwaine had left.

“Do you really want to fight me, Gwaine? We know how it normally goes.”

“I’m never one to follow the normal trend.” Gwaine spat, his fist swinging. Darg somehow ducked out of the way, caught Gwaine’s hand and spun him, twisting it up behind the soldier’s back and forcing him to his knees at the same time. Gwaine snarled, shaking himself furiously as he tried to get the man to let go, but his struggles seemed to be in vain as Darg simply stepped in closer. The pressure on Gwaine’s arm caused him to be almost bent over in half, but before he had time to react, he had been pulled upright again.

Darg had let go of his wrist, but his arm had moved to somewhere a lot more repressive. Instead, it had looped around the soldier’s neck, holding Gwaine back with ease as he slowly added pressure.

“You don’t play by the rules, I’ll give you that. But the outcome is still the same. Face it, Gwaine, you’re never going to be able to beat me, and as much as it amuses me to always see you try, it is getting a little old.”

Gwaine couldn’t respond even if he wanted to. Breathing was too much of an issue at that moment in time, let alone talking. Giving Darg the finger over his shoulder, the soldier tried to get a footing on the floor, something that would allow him to force the man away. But every time he thought he was getting somewhere, Darg would just adjust his grip.

It didn’t take long at all until Gwaine stopped struggling. The pressure on his windpipe made such struggles almost impossible, and with a startling realisation, the young man realised he couldn’t breathe. Both hands were gripped onto the arm around his neck, tugging and digging in as he tried to make Darg let go, but as Lancelot slumped against the opposite wall, Gwaine knew that it was over.

He tried one last time to get away, to do something that would stop him from being at the mercy of the man who had destroyed his life, but dark spots were littering his vision. Coughing, Gwaine eventually went limp in Darg’s grip. Unceremoniously, the man simply dropped him to the floor, using the same spell as Alvarr to secure the soldier before he too turned to join the battle against the commander.

MMM

Leon knew that they were losing. It was a bit hard to think otherwise when the rest of the team had been immobilised. Instinct was trying to make him move back towards his friends, to check that Percival and Elyan were going to be alright and to try and help Gwaine and Lancelot. If the sorcerers could pick them off one by one this easily, then Leon knew they were all as good as dead now only two were left standing.

At the back of his mind, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to help the younger men, and that his duty now lied with protecting the commander. Arthur had suffered at the hands of magic more than any of them, especially considering what Morgause had done to him. Leon knew, both as his second in command and as his friend, that watching the men closest to him be felled like this would mean Arthur wouldn’t be thinking straight, he would be letting emotions cloud his judgement.

Leon had been in position closer to the kitchen, casually firing at the sorcerers as they had attacked his friends. The bullets were supposed to go through any shield, Merlin had worked on them a little. Yet for all the impact that Leon seemed to be having, it might as well have been flicking nuts at them. This tactic wasn’t working, yet the sorcerers were all beginning to crowd in around Arthur, meaning Leon knew that he had to move. He couldn’t stay off to one side whilst the boy he had helped raise was under threat. Jumping out, Leon leapt over the small divider between the kitchen and living room, dropped into a roll and shot across the floor towards Arthur. Raising into a crouch, the gun was brought up and he prepared to fire yet again. He was closer this time, meaning he could only pray that the bullets would have some effect.

Neither Alvarr or Darg blinked at the fact that they were being shot out, but Myror suddenly turned. His eyes seem to flash, not only with magic, but with a deep sense of hatred as well. Leon felt the magic try and take hold of him, to no doubt blast him across the room. But the soldier focused on everything that Merlin had taught them about withstanding attacks like that. He let his body relax, removing any tension as his mind focused on one particular thought. Leon focused on helping Arthur, let that one thought consume him. The magic had nothing to grasp onto – there was no tension in his muscles and no distractions in his mind, and rather than being flung, Leon held his ground as Myror snarled in anger.

The magic drew back and the man stepped forward. Leon couldn’t help but grin as he too took a step towards the man who was partly responsible for coming into his home and attacking his friends. Myror might have been quick, but Leon had been in the army for years. He knew how to hold his own in a fight, and even though blows were being traded almost faster than the eye could keep up with, the soldier knew that he was pressing the advantage.

He managed to deliver a blow to Myror’s neck that left the man on the floor, gasping for breath slightly. Leon didn’t waste time but immediately drew his gun, but just like the way all of the others had been disarmed, Myror had one last trick up his sleeve.

“You kill me, he dies.” The man said bluntly, his voice strangely soft. Leon glanced down at him, following where the man’s arm was pointing and felt his heart catch in his throat. The binds of magic that were restraining Lancelot were pulsing and glowing black, almost seeming to snake around his hands as if they were alive. The man himself was panting softly, clearly trying to get away from the feeling. It was also more than obvious that it was paining him.

“Let him go.” Leon ordered, his tone of voice being one that even Arthur followed. Myror simply smirked, but he did release the magic on Lancelot. As the soldier slumped, breat hing heavily, Gwaine suddenly let out a gasp. Leon’s head shot around, only to see the exact same thing happening to the other man.

“Stop it! You have to stop it, right now.”

“Put the gun down, soldier.” Knowing that he had no choice, Leon threw his gun to the side, scowling. There had to be a way he could get to Myror without the man using his friends against him. In the time that it had taken him to drop the gun, Myror had risen fluidly to his feet.

“Hands behind your back.”

“Let them go.”

“Obey me and I might consider it.” Leon knew that he had no choice. Very slowly, his teeth gritted, he clasped his hands behind his back. Immediately, Myror’s eyes flashed and Leon could feel the same bindings that he knew were being used on Gwaine and Lancelot restrain him. He simply gritted his teeth, trying to make sure that he didn’t give anything away. Myror circled behind him, kicking out at Leon’s knees at the same time as driving the magic into him, causing the soldier to drop to the floor.

Myror’s arm encircled his neck and kept him in a kneeling position.

“Look at your little commander, fighting so hard.” He mocked, causing Leon to growl, trying to shake Myror off. He barely even moved an inch before the sorcerer curled his hand around Leon’s neck.

“Don’t fight me, soldier. We need you alive if this is to work.”

“If what is to work?” Leon snarled, inwardly wondering if whatever Myror was referring to was the reason why they had been kept alive. Myror simply huffed and before Leon could say anything else, a beam of magic shot from the man’s hand into Leon’s neck. He barely even had time to gasp before he slumped. Myror let go, kicking the man in the back in order to allow him to fall heavily to the floor before he too advanced on Arthur.

MMM

Arthur had always hated the feeling of being backed against a wall. It was something that his father had always made him feel, something that seemed to smother him and stop him from being himself. But now, what the commander was realising that as much as he hated the metaphorical meaning of the phrase, the literal meaning was even worse.

He was unarmed, his back pressing into the wall with a sorcerer on every side of him. All of his men were down and out, he was receiving no help from them. Yet whilst he might have been surrounded, Arthur was also aware that they hadn’t done anything to him. Other than keeping him cornered, the sorcerers hadn’t touched him.

“Well, well, well, Arthur Pendragon, we met again.” The commander’s chin lifted and he glared as Mordred stepped through the circle, coming to a stop directly in front of Arthur.

“This all your plan, Mordred? Your desperation to get noticed?”

“I would say that it worked rather well, wouldn’t you?” Mordred responded calmly, looking around the fallen men in a detached manner. Arthur took a step forward, but both Darg and Alvarr raised their hands, magic forcing him back against the wall. Try as he might, Arthur couldn’t even lift a hand away, although he did manage to move his head until he could glare at Mordred once again.

“Go on then. Complete your little masterpiece of a plan, kill me. Just don’t think that for one moment you will get away with it.”

“Who said anything about killing you, where is the fun in that?” Arthur kept his expression schooled into one of indifference even though his heart was pounding frantically and he could practically feel the adrenaline running through his body.

“What do you want, Mordred?” The young sorcerer sighed, glancing down at the floor for a split second before looking back at Arthur.

“I want you dead, Pendragon. But you were wrong about what you said before. This isn’t my plan, therefore what I want doesn’t matter. And the person who is behind it – they want you alive.”

“Morgana.” Arthur muttered, leaning his head back on the wall and shifting as much as the magic would allow him. “She’s the one behind it, isn’t she?”

“Not the only one.” Mordred admitted, taking another step towards the commander. Arthur didn’t need to ask who the other was, Morgause always had been the one pulling the strings behind whatever action Morgana had been performing at the time. It was the one thing that kept Arthur hoping that, one day, he would be able to get his sister back. The thoughts distracted him for a moment too long, and Mordred had copied his fellow sorcerers and whispered the same spell that they had.

Rather than Arthur’s hands just being tied, his arms were wrenched behind his back. The thick coils of magic went all the way up to his elbows, binding him tightly. Another coil bound his ankles whilst the last went around his knees. Darg and Alvarr removed their spell and Arthur could only drop to the floor. He didn’t struggle though, he knew that it only made the magic worse. Instead, he managed to get himself into a kneeling position, glaring up at Mordred.

“Do what you will to me, I’ve already told you that you won’t get away with it. But leave my men out of this.”

“I can’t, they’re part of it.” Mordred muttered, almost seeming genuinely apologetic as he dropped to his knees besides Arthur, looking the commander directly in the eye.

“But who is going to avenge you, Pendragon? Your father and his army, the ones that have no idea what they are fighting against. Or perhaps that warlock of yours?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Arthur responded smoothly, his face giving nothing away. He knew how to withstand interrogation, one did not become a commander without all the correct training taking place. The whole “name and number”, nothing else, was something that Arthur was well practised in.

“That’s a shame. I would have quite liked to have meet him, you know.” Arthur kept his mouth shut, not wanting to rise to the bait at all in case he said something that would give Merlin away. He loved the man, there was no way that he was about to say anything that could possible give these people a lead on where they could find him. He just hoped that Gwen had received their signal, and that her and Merlin would be able to find _them_. He had to trust in them, something that was hard as a commander to do.

“What’s this, you are giving me the silent treatment now?”

“I have nothing to say to you, Mordred.” Arthur muttered, deliberately not looking at the man. His words, however, clearly didn’t go down to well with the attention seeking sorcerer and Mordred growled, putting his hand on Arthur’s forehead. The same binding magic snaked out of his fingers, but this time, it wrapped itself around Arthur’s mouth, gagging him.

“Then you won’t say anything at all.” The young man spat, standing back up again and striding for the door as he spoke. Arthur watched his progress, silently fuming. He could almost feel the sparks leaving his eyes as Mordred stopped one last time.

“Take them all away. This was a job well done, gentleman. Let it be known, the Round Table is no more.”

Bound, gagged and defeated, Arthur couldn’t actually think of a way to disagree.


	28. Chapter 28

Merlin could honestly say that he didn’t sleep a wink that night. Not only was he restless – the same time of restlessness that plagues everyone from time to time – but even his magic wouldn’t settle. Everything Kilgarrah had told him about his destiny, about how he was supposed to be by Arthur’s side rather than it just being chance that they had met again and ended up being together, it was all playing in his mind. He could recall practically every word the old man had said even as he shifted and kicked the covers back down for the fifth time, almost in as many moments.

But whilst Kilgarrah’s thoughts were going through his mind, his magic was thrumming through his body. Merlin couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly how it was making him feel, but when he finally gave in and climbed out of bed just as dawn was breaking, he was not someone that you would want to get on the wrong side of. The long, cool shower helped wash away some of the sensation, it made him feel more in control and prepared for whatever was about to happen, yet Merlin was also practically holding his breath as he opened his bedroom door. He didn’t want to run into his mother unprepared whilst he was like this, for his tongue could be far looser than normal when he was tired and irritable, and he had no idea what his magic was going to do.

Strangely enough, there was a light coming from downstairs. Merlin found that he was tilting his head quizzically as he peered down, and then realised the door to the room Gwen had been staying in was open a fraction. He knew full well that she had shut it when they had come up, so maybe he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep?  
  
Deciding that her company would be better than his own, the warlock made his way slowly down the stairs, running a hand through his still damp hair and trying to shake the feelings that simply would not go. One hand reached out, but before he could open the lounge door, his magic shot out. It almost flung it open violently and Merlin was forced to dive forward to catch the handle before it hit the wall behind. Yet as soon as he stepped into the room, he knew what had caused the magic to flare up.

“What’s going on?” Gwen was indeed in the room. Not only was she up, but she was dressed for action as well, her long hair tied back as she bent over the table. She was crouched in her chair rather than sitting on it normally, a laptop open to one side and numerous pieces of paper scattered around her. The bag she had brought with her when they had run was open by her feet and Merlin could only assume that was where everything had come from. What unnerved Merlin most was the fact that her phone was sitting on the top next to her, and Gwen kept sending it anxious looks, almost as if she was waiting for something to come through. Thinking back to the news report the night before, Merlin swallowed.  
  
“What’s happened to them?” Judging by the way Gwen simply looked up at him, he knew that he was on the right lines. The girl sighed, tucking back a stray piece of hair that constantly threatened to fall in front of her face.

“I should have known you would have felt it. Probably your magic and the way it seems tied with everything to do with Arthur…”

“What’s happened to Arthur?!” Merlin forgot to keep his voice down this time, and as Gwen glanced anxiously at the door and towards the stairs, he stepped further into the room, closing it behind him. At this moment in time, he wasn’t particularly fussed if his loud voice woke his mother. Something was happening, something serious by the look in Gwen’s eye, and she was holding back on telling him.

“Merlin, you might want to sit down.”

“Gwen, please. Just tell me. You’re right, my magic has been playing up all night and I don’t know why, I’m tired and I’m uneasy. Just tell me?”

“Sit.” Gwen used her foot to push over another chair and Merlin realised that he wasn’t really going to have a choice in the matter. Sighing, he dropped into the chair, leaning back on it and letting it take his weight as he glanced over at his friend. As he did so, he couldn’t help but glance into the top of her bag. Only to push his chair back in alarm, taking a few steps backwards.

“Why have you got _them?!”_ He spluttered, feeling that he must have gone pale. Sitting innocently in Gwen’s bag where the Druid handcuffs. The only thing the team had found that actually worked to restrain Merlin’s magic. The one thing that could make him defenceless, and Gwen had brought them with her. Letting out a shaky breath, Merlin didn’t notice that his magic was making the fittings on the wall shake slightly, or that Gwen climbed off her chair. A gentle hand resting on his arm made him calm back down again, and despite being worried about her intentions, Merlin found that he couldn’t pull away from her touch.

“In case of something like this. Come on, Merlin, sit down, take a deep breath. I’m not telling you a thing until I know that you won’t turn me into something.” If he was honest, Merlin couldn’t find himself to disagree or make any attempt to reassure her that he would never do such a thing. After the night he had just had, anything was possible. Instead, he allowed Gwen to push him into the seat before she retook her own, staring at him intently.

“Are you calm?”

“Gwen…”

“Merlin, I’m serious. I need to know whether you are in control or not before we talk. For my own safety.” Realising just how much he must have scared his friend if that was how she was thinking, Merlin took a deep breath. As he inhaled, he let his mind go, wrapping it firmly around the magic and pulling it back under his control. His eyes flickered open as he breathed out, and he nodded at her. It showed just how powerful Merlin’s magic truly was as Gwen practically felt the change in the air as he regained control of himself.

“Okay, I’m ready.” Gwen’s eyes dropped to the table, and Merlin suddenly realised just how sad she looked. It was almost a worn look, as if someone had been expecting something to happen for a while, and suddenly that fear had become a reality. Merlin found he was almost biting his tongue, having a horrible sense that he knew where this was going.

“We had the signal from them last night. They were under attack.”

“ _Were?_ They made it out, right?”

“I haven’t heard anything since.” Merlin simply stared at Gwen, not noticing the way it didn’t look like she had slept a wink either.

“But-,”

“But why didn’t I wake you? Why haven’t we already gone back there in order to save the day? Why am I sitting here looking so calm? Because I have to, Merlin!” The warlock had never heard Gwen shout before, and he realised that she was lying. She wasn’t sitting here looking calm, despite her best efforts to. She looked like she was about to burst into tears, and he wondered what he had been like for her. Sitting here by herself all night, waiting to see if there would be any other message, needing to know whether the man she loved was going to be safe or not. Merlin slipped from his chair, rounded the table and wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

“So why haven’t we done any of that stuff yet?”

“Arthur doesn’t want us to.” Gwen muttered. She sniffed, cleared her throat and pulled away from Merlin. The warlock let her, knowing that she wanted to be able to stay in control. Not to mention he needed her to stay in control for he had no idea what to do in a case like this. They had never got that far with the training, there had been a lot to learn in six months as it was.

“Meaning?”

“He sent the strangest code, I’ve spent most of the night trying to figure out what it is he wants.” Merlin slipped into the seat next to her, casually glancing at one of the pieces of paper and the words sprawled all over it in Gwen’s neat handwriting. One look told him that he needed her to explain, he had no idea what any of it meant.

“He told us they were under attack, at least six sorcerers. It must have been from the breakout, they must have gone after them.” Gwen paused, swallowing hard. Merlin didn’t say anything, but just gave her a minute to pull herself together again.

“But he didn’t want us to go after them. That is why this has taken me so long to work out. He wanted you to use this chance as a way of tracking down the Resistance. If they were killed, or magic was even used in the flat, he said something about being able to trace the magical energy?”

Merlin nodded. It was something that he had tried to explain to Arthur before, but hadn’t been sure whether the commander had understood him.

“If someone cast a spell in here and then walked off, for a certain length of time afterwards, it would be like they were leaving a trail behind. Magic leaves its mark, and I seem to be able to sense it. If all six of them were using magic in the flat and then all went back to the same place, I’d basically get a shining beacon leading the way.”

Gwen bit her lip, glancing at her notes and then back at Merlin.

“He didn’t want us to go to help. He was prepared to risk everything, he was prepared to die if it meant that you could get a solid lead on the Resistance and stop all the murders that have happened. The Resistance are leading sorcerers into Camelot, like a moth attracted to a flame. With no rallying point, there won’t be nearly as many. Arthur was looking at the bigger picture again.”

Gwen fell silent, but Merlin found that he had stopped listening. To her, at least. Instead, he was focusing on the feelings that were stirring within him. His magic had flared up at hearing they had been under attack, yet it wasn’t reacting. Arthur should be dead if they had been attacked by those odds. Merlin had trained with them enough to know that they weren’t as strong at one-on-one’s, that’s why they were so effective as a team. An attack like that, however good they were, would have been predictable from the beginning. So why wasn’t his magic stirring? Why wasn’t it reacting how it had when he had found Will?  
  
“They’re not dead. At least, Arthur’s not.” He eventually muttered, staring intently at the table top so that he didn’t have to meet Gwen’s eye. Her head craned around to him as she stared.

“Wh-what?”

“I would have felt it if Arthur had been killed. We’re more than just lovers, apparently he is my destiny. I knew they were under attack. Well, I didn’t realise that was what I was feeling, but I’ve known all night. They are still alive.”

“Meaning we can get them out again?” Merlin simply nodded at Gwen’s words, standing up as he did so.

“One hour?”

“Ready when you are.” As Gwen began to gather her papers and stuff things haphazardly back into her bag, Merlin shot for the stairs. He hadn’t properly unpacked himself, wanting to be able to head back to Arthur as quickly as he could as soon as it was safe. He took them two at a time, but just as he reached his bedroom door, his mother appeared.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Merlin always put it down to his magic when he knew certain things. Yet he supposed it was just a mother’s intuition that she seemed to pick up on things as well. His hand was resting on his door handle, yet Merlin just froze. He let it drop back to his side before slowly turning to face her.

“We have to. Arthur’s in trouble, all my friends are in trouble.” There was a small frown in between her eyes that Merlin knew all too well. It was her way of saying that she didn’t want him to go, she wanted her son safe and sound. But she didn’t say anything. Instead, she just walked over, her hands smoothing down his top and fussing over it as if it was the most important thing in the world.

“I’ll make you some food for the journey.” She eventually murmured, turning away. Merlin, however, caught her hand in his.

“I’ll come back, Mum, I swear.”

“No, love. You have a new life now, one much bigger and better than a place like here could ever offer you. It’s why you had to go in the first place. Just let me know that you are safe and visit occasionally, that is all I ask. There will always be a place for you here, Merlin, but you know as well as I do that it isn’t your home anymore.” With that, she leant up and kissed him on the cheek before heading down the stairs.

Merlin could only watch her go, finding that he had tears in his eyes. When he had left Ealdor at only seventeen, he didn’t think that he was ever going to stay in the city. He was young, naïve and scared, he wanted home comforts. Even throughout the few years that he stayed there before he met Arthur, he always felt like he was just killing time until he could go home again.

But now, watching his mother walk down the stairs before letting himself into his room, stuffing a few more items into his bag, Merlin knew that she had a point. He had moved on from that now, he had found where he belonged. And that was by the side of a certain blond commander that Merlin fondly referred to as a prat.

And right now, said prat was in trouble and relying on Merlin to come and get him out again. Finding a way of courage and strength flood through him at his mother’s reaction to him leaving, Merlin packed as quickly as he could. He knew full well that although they had said an hour, both he and Gwen would leave as soon as they knew that they were ready. Both had loved ones in danger, and Merlin full intended to get the Round Table back where they belonged.

 

MMM

Elyan coughed sharply, feeling like he was going to be sick as his whole body protested the idea of waking up.

“Shh, it’s okay, we’re here…” That was Lancelot’s voice, he was sure of it. He heaved again, realising that he was either trembling or shivering – he wasn’t quite sure which – and that it normally helped to see what was going on if he opened his eyes. That seemed like so much effort though, yet Lancelot’s calming voice gently encouraged him to peel them open, and Elyan did.

He was lying down, that much was obvious. The ceiling that he was staring up at didn’t give him much of a clue what was going on, other than it was not the ceiling of their flat. Pressing his palms against the floor just behind him, Elyan forced himself into a more upright position. For a moment, he didn’t think that he was going to be able to hold his own weigh as his elbows threatened to give way, but Lancelot was suddenly behind him, helping him to sit back against the wall. The trembling had got worse by the time that Elyan felt the damp brickwork soaking into his shirt, yet he could also feel that there seemed to be a sheen of cold sweat beading his forehead. Once he was settled, Lancelot came into view and sat down next to him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked gently, his eyes showing that he already seemed to know the answer to that. Elyan simply shook his head, looking around the room he was in. In a way, he couldn’t even call it a room, it was more like a cell. There were no windows, only a very solid door that he knew without having to be told would certainly not be providing a way out for them. The room was only just big enough for the five of them…

Five?! Elyan suddenly lurched forward, Lancelot’s hand on his shoulder stopping him from completely toppling over. Percival was stretched out in the opposite corner to where Elyan was, and the soldier could just tell by how still he was that he was still unconscious. Leon was sitting cross legged next to his head, and Elyan had a feeling that Lancelot had been sitting the same way next to him. They were watching over them, making sure that nothing could happen whilst they were vulnerable. Gwaine had his knees drawn up to his chest and was leaning against another wall, a finger moodily stabbing into the ground next to him over and over again. And then there was Lancelot sitting next to him. But that wasn’t right, that meant that they were missing someone…

“Where’s Arthur?” Elyan asked, surprising himself with how hoarse his voice sounded. With no windows, he wasn’t sure what time of day it was so had no idea how long he had been unconscious for. He sensed Leon and Lancelot glanced at each other and swallowed.

“Where is he?”

“We don’t know.” Leon muttered, and Elyan knew how much this must have been killing him. Leon always looked after Arthur, always had done and always would do. To be sat here, clearly locked in, and have no idea where the commander was must have been something that was killing him.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Elyan was blaming it on whatever magic he had been hit with. It must have been clouding his mind, for he wasn’t quite processing the fact that they were clearly being held prisoner somewhere and they had no idea where their commander was. Elyan was normally all one for positive thinking and all of that, but he knew that it wouldn’t get him very far this time. There was no way that Arthur would have managed to escape – he wouldn’t go and leave his men, even if they told him to. It was a trait that was both a blessing and a curse in the commander.

“El, you, Percy and Leon were all knocked out. Gwaine and I were restrained, we had no way of going anywhere either. They had already used us against each other, trying to get Leon to back down by using Gwaine and I.”

“But what happened to Arthur?” Elyan pushed, looking around the small room once again. It was almost as if he was hoping that the commander would suddenly pop out of the brickwork, reassuring them that he was fine. Arthur was always fine, he had to be. Too many people cared about him for him not to be.

“They cornered him. They restrained him, I think they must have gagged him as well by the way that he went silent. But he couldn’t do anything, none of us could. I remember hearing Mordred-,”

“That little brat!”

“-, saying that we had fallen and to take us somewhere,” Lancelot continued, ignoring Gwaine’s muttered comment and the venom in the other man’s voice as he carried on. “But they must have used magic of some sort, for the next thing I knew, we were in here as Leon was beginning to stir. Gwaine doesn’t remember anything either.”

Elyan didn’t say anything, made no sign at all that he had heard Lancelot, but instead got to his feet. He was forced to place a shaky hand against the wall in order to remain standing, but he was determined that he was going to make it into an upright position. He wasn’t just going to sit there and let whatever happen around him and not have his say about it.

“This is the Resistance, isn’t it?” He eventually muttered. His hand rested on the wall as he began to trail it around the room, feeling for any type of weakness, anything that might give them a way out. At the back of his mind, he knew that he wouldn’t find anything. Even if there was a physical weakness in the brickwork or even the door, he knew that it would be reinforced with magic. But he was never one to sit there and do nothing when escape plans needed to be made.

“Yeah.” Gwaine said softly in response, also climbing to his feet and coming to join Elyan by the door. Behind them, there was the sound of Percival stirring, and Elyan only glanced over his shoulder as Lancelot hurried across to help Leon reassure the man that everything was okay. Elyan turned away, shaking his head slightly. It was all false reassurances, it wasn’t okay and Percival would know it in a few seconds when he too looked around the room and found that someone was missing. Leaning his head against the door, he sighed to himself, absently watching as Gwaine began to fiddle with something on the door.

“What are you doing?” He eventually mumbled, finding that it was almost hard to keep his eyes open. No doubt it was all an effect from the magic, but he just wanted to sleep.

“There is some kind of hinge in this door. I think it might be a small window, or peephole thing of sorts.” Gwaine had his teeth gritted as he dug his fingers into the grove as best as he could, but Elyan just blinked.

“You know that it won’t give any sort of way out, right?”

“It might tell us more about where we are for when we do find a way out. Now, are you going to help me or just stand there moaning?” Elyan rolled his eyes at Gwaine’s attitude, knowing that the soldier was as bad as he was when it came to staying still. He too tried to get his fingers into the grove when a noise caught his ear.

“Do you hear that? Sounds like someone heading this way?” Gwaine paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“They’ll walk past, their pace is too steady for them to be stopping here.”

“You know what you were saying about getting a better idea of what is going on?” Gwaine glanced around and caught Elyan’s eye before they both doubled their efforts. For a long moment, it was like nothing was going to happen, before a long creaking sound echoed around the small room as the flap prised open. The two soldiers jostled for the position for a moment, before both simultaneously fell back.

They had timed it perfectly as a group of people walked past their cell. But it wasn’t the fact that they were surrounded by sorcerers and everyone they had ever gone against that had the two men stepping back. It was the fact that two of them were dragging someone. The person’s feet weren’t taking any of their weight and their head hung limply even as sorcerers on either side simply gripped them under the arms and pulled them along. It was clear that they were unconscious, but Elyan found his breathing picking up.

It was Arthur.

Gwaine let out a low growl of fury that caused Leon to jump to his feet and head over. Judging by the sharp intake of breath, the second in commander had arrived just in time to glimpse Arthur before the man was pulled out of sight. Three pairs of furious eyes glared out of the flap as someone else stepped into sight.

“Oh don’t worry, boys, he’s still alive. I just wanted a little chat and he didn’t want to co-operate. Where would be the fun in killing him?” Elyan grabbed onto Gwaine’s arm as he lunged forward, not being sure what Morgana would do – or even could do – through the flap in the door. Leon levelled his gaze coolly at her, reached out a hand and slammed the cover back into place.

It might isolate them once again, but it also gave them a small amount of privacy. Their team was too close in order to not be effected by seeing something like that, and Leon knew that Morgana would just find a way of using it to her advantage if she knew what was going through their heads.

“We need to get out of here,” Gwaine snarled, moving back from the door and beginning to examine the cell from top to bottom. Although they all knew that escape was highly improbable, everyone joined in the search, even a pale Percival.

They couldn’t just sit here when Arthur needed help. Yet even as he began searching for gaps once again, Elyan found himself desperately hoping that his sister got the message and that Merlin would be able to do something. If the way Arthur looked was anything to go by, preferably fast.

 


	29. Chapter 29

Arthur didn’t even realise that Mordred had knocked him out whilst they were being moved. The last thing he remembered was the young man giving the order for the team to be taken, and then there had been absolutely nothing. He had no recollection of the sorcerer turning in the doorway, his eyes flaring gold. Nor could he remember the burst of pain that shot through every fibre of his being as his whole body seemed to seize up before everything had gone dark and he had known no more. In fact, he had no clue whatsoever about how he had got from his flat to the very centre of the Resistance.

Yet Arthur was fully aware of the second that he regained consciousness. It wasn’t to the worried looks of his men before they hastily covered them up with smirks and flippant comments. It wasn’t even to Gaius’ scolding about him needing to take better care of himself. No, it was to a wave of magic shooting through him once again, grabbing hold of his very soul and forcing his mind back into awareness.

The commander’s eyes snapped open as he grunted at the fresh wave of pain, only to find himself looking straight at Morgause. Shifting slightly, trying to regain at least some sort of control over the situation, Arthur tried to look away. But it was then that he realised that was easier said than done considering how much movement over his own body he had. His hands were tied about his head, keeping him in an upright position from where they were bound to a fitting way beyond his reach. Whilst his feet were still on the floor, it was only just and Arthur found that he almost had to balance on tiptoes in order to maintain his balance. Considering the smug look on Morgause’s face, she was the one who had arranged his conditions, and was more than satisfied with herself.

“So the brave commander awakens yet again.” As she spoke, the sorceress drew back her hand from where it had been resting lightly on Arthur’s chest. Without having to ask, Arthur knew that she was the one who had delivered the magic that had jerked him back to consciousness. Without answering, he glanced around the small room that he was being held in, trying to find anything that would work to his advantage. There was no such luck, there was nothing else in it apart from Morgause and Morgana. The latter Arthur didn’t know how he was supposed to feel at seeing, but considering she couldn’t hold his eye either, he had a feeling that it might have been mutual. Whilst he was glad that Mordred – and all the other sorcerers who had attacked them, for that matter – were nowhere to be seen, the commander didn’t like the fact that neither were his men.

“Where are they?” he asked quietly, his voice almost dripping with a sense of authority. He was used to taking control, he was used to people giving him the answers that he was looking for, but Morgause simply laughed lightly.

“I’ll be the one asking the questions, dear Arthur. Where’s the warlock?”

“Where’s my men?” Arthur truly would have thought that she would have remembered from the last time when she had held him prisoner that he was not going to play by her rules. He was their leader, it was up to him in order to make sure they were safe. Looking into Morgause’s eyes, Arthur glared as he tried to will an answer, even a hint, as to their location. Even when she delivered another shock of magic into his protesting body, he would not look away.

“Where’s Merlin?”

“Who?” Arthur said bluntly, holding her gaze and letting the corners of his mouth turn up in the beginning of a smirk. She might not be giving him any answers, but he wasn’t going to either. Somehow, Arthur got the feeling that this was going to be a very long conversation; both sides were too stubborn to give the other what they wanted. Personally, Arthur hated Morgause too much on principle to even think about offering a truce either.

“You know who, Arthur, I know that you do. We have our sources.” The commander’s jaw set as he glared at the wall over Morgause’s shoulder. He had trusted his uncle, the man had been a fountain of support and companionship, helping to fill the void that Morgana had left when she had gone. All along he had just been trying to get close to the commander in order to be able to feed information to the Resistance. Now more than ever, Arthur was glad that he didn’t consider family to be those of a blood relation to him, but those who were loyal and true. He knew who his true family was. Unfortunately, Morgause correctly interpreted his silence.

“So you know about Aggravaine then? That must hurt.” She took a step closer, running a finger along his chin in a way that could have been seductive if it wasn’t for the hatred burning in her eyes. Arthur tried to jerk his head away, but for a split second, found that his weight was just hanging from his wrists as his feet slipped ever so slightly.

“But if you know where we are getting our information from, you must know what information it is that we are being given in order to work out who it was. Come on, Arthur, I know you know precisely who I mean. Tell me where the warlock is.”

“Why?”

“Someone that powerful should be aiding us, not having to live his life in hiding.”

“What makes you think he isn’t just planning on kicking your arse from here to god knows where?” Arthur spat, completely changing tactic and refusing to look Morgause in the eye at all. Not only did he have to hope that Gwen got his message and that they were carrying out his orders for the sake of the team, he hoped it for Merlin’s sake as well. If they could end this, then Merlin would be free in the sense that there wouldn’t be scores of sorcerers coming to Camelot and therefore tracking him down. Arthur simply glanced away, praying that Morgause wouldn’t see the smirk that was threatening to emerge on the commander’s face. Once Merlin knew what had happened, there would be hell to pay.

“So you do know? Come now, Arthur, you want to protect your men? You arrested the warlock once, just tell me where he is. Or better yet, where he isn’t? Then you aren’t betraying him and I have a smaller space to search.”

“You had his best friend murdered, Morgause. He’ll never help you and I’m not telling you a thing.”

“Why you-,”

“Sister.” Arthur found that his head was craning around, once again forcing him to balance awkwardly as Morgana stepped out of the shadows. She didn’t look at Arthur, all of her attention fixed on her sister even as she took another step. Coming to stand next to the blond woman, Morgana glanced at their prisoner briefly before looking away again.

“Perhaps the men can get it out of him?” Morgause nodded, a smile on her face at Morgana’s suggestion and beckoned two men in from just outside the door. At the same time, she took a step backwards, clearing the area around Arthur and smirking openly. The commander cleared his mind, staring once more at the wall and just letting himself zone out from what he knew was about to come. He had been trained as a solider since before he could walk, there was nothing that Morgause and her magic, or her men, could do to him that would make him give up the man he loved. Instead, Arthur adopted a bored expression and made sure that his face didn’t give anything away as the beating started.

Despite a couple of gasps of pain escaping him now and again as the men continued to do their mistresses’ bidding, Morgause adding to it with the odd spark of magic, Arthur said not a word. He kept his gaze firmly fixed on the wall and his body relaxed so that he didn’t tense against any of the blows. It didn’t matter how much Morgause demanded that he told her where Merlin was, Arthur didn’t say anything until the wall suddenly blurred into one big black space and he passed out.

Staring in disgust, Morgause tried to brink Arthur back to consciousness again with magic, but the commander was too far gone this time.

“Take him to a cell. Make sure you parade him past his men, just in case they are on the lookout for their precious leader.” Turning on her heel, Morgause swept out of the room, both her hair and dress flowing elegantly behind her. Morgana nodded to the men, the simple gesture ordering them to get on with what they had just been ordered to do and they jumped, swiftly cutting Arthur down.

Why Morgana decided to follow them as more guards joined the procession as the commander was dragged through the hallways, she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t even say why she mocked the Round Table either, just feeling like it was the right thing to do at the time. But as the men came to a small, dark and damp cell, she found that she was ordering them to throw Arthur in, chain him to the wall and then leave him with her.

The men did as they were told, dumping the man in the furthest corner of the cell and unfurling a set of manacles. The majority left as Arthur’s wrists were locked into the cuffs, but Morgana gave a set of low instructions to the final man. He gave her a look of confusion before hurrying away to get the items that she wanted. Morgana knew she was taking a risk here, if Arthur got any hint about what she was really doing… But she had seen the difference in him and knew that if he was indeed in league with the warlock, it meant that his attitude to magic might have also changed. Morgause knew this Arthur too well – she knew that beating him would never get the answers out of him. But he did have a weakness, he tended to care too much. Despite everything they had put him through, both witches knew that he would hesitate when it came to Morgana. All she had to do was get him on her side…  
  
The man returned within only a few moments and Morgana took the items, making sure she had his silence before sending him away again. Spreading out the thick blanket on the cold floor, she rolled Arthur onto it, wincing as the chains let out a loud rattle as she did so. He was still the prisoner, she didn’t trust him by any stretch of the imagination and therefore could not unchain him. But her hands were soft and gentle as she dipped a cloth into a bowl of warm water and began to carefully wipe the blood away from his face.

As she predicted, the action soon brought Arthur back to consciousness. Many believed that because he was Uther’s son, because he had been raised as a solider, a more violent approach would be needed. But Morgana knew her brother, knew that he had a good heart beneath all of his training and found that she was smiling gently as his eyes peeled open with a long groan.

Arthur almost immediately jerked away, his eyes darting around the cell rapidly, taking in not only his surroundings, but the fact that he was chained and Morgana seemed to be the only one present.

“What are you doing?” The witch knew that Arthur had been attempting to sound like his normal demanding self, yet it had come out as little more than a rasp as he winced and spat a bubble of blood out from where he had clearly bit his lip at some point during the beating.

“What does it look like, I’m trying to help you.”

“I won’t tell you where he is, it doesn’t matter what tricks you try.” Arthur had pushed himself as far away from her as he could get, but thanks to the manacles, that was only a couple of paces. Morgana sighed and tutted, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. Pulling his arm back towards her, Morgana continued to try and clean him up. Arthur struggled, but his sister was firm.

“What is wrong with you, I’m trying to help.”

“Help?” Arthur snarled, wrenching free of her once again and making it into a corner this time. Morgana knew not to try and approach him again, not when his body language was still so defensive. She knew her brother well enough to know that even beaten and shackled, he was more than a match for her when he was like this. Fury and protectiveness were a dangerous combination in Arthur Pendragon.

“Look, this wasn’t some trick to get you to tell me where the warlock is, honest. But we do need him, we can bring magic back properly with someone that powerful. Morgause believes that we should just take everything by force, but I know that is not going to work. You want your men safe, I want to feel free again. Please, Arthur, at least think it through.”

Some of the tension seemed to leave Arthur’s body for a moment as he stared at Morgana. The witch sighed, bringing out some bread from behind her back and offering it out to him.

“I know you would have been able to take the beating, that’s why I suggested it. I wasn’t sure whether you could withstand Morgause’s magic and I didn’t want to see you hurt. Come on, Arthur, you don’t have to be strong in front of me, you never used to hide like that. Just… think about what is best for everyone.” Stretching her hand forward again, Morgana smiled as Arthur’s own hand came to meet hers, taking the bread. As he seemed to study it, she risked a glance over her shoulder and could just about make out Morgause, nodding in approval.

But what Morgana hadn’t counted on was Arthur watching. He might have been looking down, but he was simply studying her through the reflection on the cuff, waiting to see what would happen when she thought his guard was down. Somehow, he couldn’t feel angry, only a deep sadness. Placing the bread back on the floor, Arthur curled up against the wall.

“Come back when you have learnt to lie.” He muttered, refusing to so much as look at her as Morgana got angrily to her feet, realising that the game was up. She opened her mouth to say something of it but seemed to realise that she wouldn’t get a response. Instead, she just bent down, whipped the blanket away from Arthur and left the cell.

The commander couldn’t help but shiver as he was plunged into darkness, his hands tracing the cuffs and trying to find a weak spot.

“Come on, Merlin, come and get me out.” He whispered, allowing his mind to turn to both his lover and his men as he tried to figure out what on earth happened now.

MMM

“Now?”

“No, wait a little longer.”

“Gwen-,”

“Merlin, wait.” The warlock sighed almost dramatically before turning his attention back to the building they were watching. If they thought they had made good speed when they were fleeing Camelot, it was nothing compared to how quickly they had made it back. Gwen hadn’t even said anything when Merlin used magic to aid them on their way, forcing a path through the forest that hadn’t otherwise existed. They both knew it meant a higher risk of being caught, but knowing their loved ones and friends were in such trouble meant neither were thinking about themselves.

Once they had made it back to Camelot, Merlin had headed straight for the flat. Gwen had let him to a certain extent, but rather than entering, they were crouched on the other side of the street, watching it intently.

“You do realise that the longer we wait here, the harder it is for me to pick up the trail, right?” Merlin muttered, not wanting to sound like he was complaining but not understanding why they hadn’t just gone straight in. Arthur was the “kick-the-door-down” kind of guy, why shouldn’t Merlin take a leaf out of his book once in a while?

“The same works both ways. If they’re going after them partly because they know it will get to you, then they would have left something in the flat to alert them to your presence. All magical spells like that, even yours, last for about twelve hours. I say we’ve got another twenty minutes to go.”

“How do you know?” Merlin was desperately trying to ignore the fact that it meant the team had been in trouble for over twelve hours, and they still hadn’t truly done anything to help apart from a mad rush across the country.

“I don’t. I’m guessing on timings that Arthur sent us. He would have sent the message before the attack. Considering our boys would have put up a hell of a fight, I guess that lasted at least half an hour. So judging on that, we have about another twenty minutes.”

“And if your calculations are wrong and we are walking straight into a trap?”

“I can go in myself. It won’t detect anything from me.” Gwen snapped, and Merlin couldn’t help but grin. It wasn’t that he really doubted her, but Merlin wanted to know that Gwen would do everything she possibly could and more to get Lance and Elyan to safety. He didn’t want them to get to the flat and for her to still be holding him back. The fact that she was prepared to walk in by herself, into who knows what (Merlin was fully aware it might not just be magic they left behind, but actual people!) proved that she was being cautious with what she knew about, but her heart was still ruling her head to a certain degree. He was the same.

They passed the next twenty minutes in silence, only occasionally glancing at each other and trying to offer small smiles of reassurances, unspoken promises that it was all going to be okay in the end. Neither believed the other, but it was the sense of unity it offered that did the trick more than anything.

“Now?” Merlin eventually whispered, finding that his heart was hammering hard. Gwen nodded, and both of them leapt to their feet. Darting across the road, they were only out in the open for a matter of seconds before ducking into the car park of the flats. Merlin found that his eyes were involuntary drawn to where both the van and Arthur’s car were still parked and something twisted unpleasantly in his gut. If he didn’t get his commander back…

“Merlin?” Gwen’s soft call startled him from his musings and he glanced around to see her standing by the door to the stairs, glancing at him quizzically. Merlin just shrugged and hurried over, not wanting to tell her that he was beginning to feel his magic bubbling in anger. He was in far more control now as to how he had been when Will was killed, but this was different. Arthur wasn’t just his friend, he was his lover. The team weren’t his friends either, they had become more like brothers. No amount of training was going to help him keep in control.

Brushing past Gwen, Merlin took the stairs two at a time. At least if he went in first, he could try and protect her from anything that might be lying in wait. That was the plan, anyway, but as soon as he got to the flat door, Merlin gasped. He was forced to put a hand on the wall as a rush of dizziness overcame him and his stomach churned.

“Merlin?”

“D-dark magic has been used here.” He panted softly, taking in a deep breath and allowing his own magic to fill him up. As his was from a natural source, the feeling of magic so evil, so tainted, affected him physically. It was something he had known about in theory, but had never come across magic that dark in order to truly experience it. It might have happened in the cells, but considering what else was going on at the time, he couldn’t have been sure. Gwen’s face clouded over, and before Merlin could stop her, she had drawn a gun he didn’t even know she had and kicked open the door.

Her gasp made Merlin immediately hurry in after her.

“Fuck.” Stopping dead, the warlock looked around, trying to process what he was seeing. The place had been torn apart. Furniture was scattered across the place, some looking like it had been tipped in a fight, but others looking like it had been deliberately pushed. Elyan’s weapon cabinet was shattered, every item missing. Merlin didn’t need to ask to know that was the sorcerers, but he couldn’t help but frown at the small details, such as the fact that the cushions had been ripped open and their contents pulled out.

“Aredian.” Gwen growled as she saw what Merlin was looking at, but then continued her own search. Merlin looked around, but realised that he wouldn’t find what he was looking for by eyesight alone. Instead, he reached out with his magic.

It was as if the whole room had been transformed. Rather than seeing it in the way that Gwen was, Merlin was seeing the trails of magic. What made him shudder, however, were just how many of them there were. All over the room there were signs that magic had been used. In some places it was stronger than others, but it was as if he could see the whole of the fight happening again in his mind’s eye by what his powers were showing him. It wasn’t just the magic that his powers were showing him. Each person seemed to have almost an aura, and over his six months with the team, Merlin had begun to recognise theirs.

Slowly turning in a circle, Merlin knew that he was aware of everything that had happened. Someone had cornered Percival over there, someone else had taken Gwaine down in the opposite corner. The auras of the men were spread out across the room, each accompanied by a magical presence that showed they were acting one on one. But when he finally reached the far corner, Merlin couldn’t help but gasp out loud.

Arthur’s aura was clearer to him than the rest of them, it always had been. Whilst theirs were like faint outlines, Arthur’s shone brightly in Merlin’s mind, causing his magic to want to automatically leap towards it. But this time, Merlin could only just see it from where it was surrounded by pulsing black lines. All of the sorcerers that had been in the room had ended up in this corner at some point, and Merlin knew without having to be told in any way that they had Arthur surrounded. Judging by the fact that the signs were slightly stronger, he knew that Arthur had been left till last. He would have watched as the rest of his men fell before being taken down himself.

“Merlin?”

“Those bastards. I’m going to kill them all.” Glancing around at Gwen, Merlin didn’t notice the way that the gold was flooding back into his eyes. But judging by Gwen’s sharp gasp, it didn’t stop there either. Black lines were beginning to blur the edges ever so slightly.

“Merlin, stop it!” Blinking, the warlock realised what must have been happening by the frightened expression on her face and quickly shook his head, forcing his magic back under his control. Leaning over, he gripped the edge of the ruined chair, breathing heavily as he tried to maintain his focus. Gwen took a cautious step forward, but when Merlin didn’t react, she came even closer. Eventually, she tentatively laid her hand on his arm.

“Merlin?”

“I’ve got to get out of here, the magic is too strong in the air, I don’t know if I can control it.” Merlin muttered, straightening up as he did so. But rather than walking towards the door, he instead headed into the bedroom. Gwen chose not to follow him, something which Merlin was grateful for. Arthur had been in here not long before the attack, hours at the most. He had sat on the bed, Merlin could sense it. Letting his hand drift over the spot, the warlock took a deep breath as he tried to ground himself. Had the commander sat here thinking about him in the same way that Merlin had been thinking of Arthur? Had he hated the fact that he was sitting on the bed alone without anyone else there? For a long moment, Merlin couldn’t move, his eyes staring at the spot where he knew Arthur had sat.

But then a sense of injustice began to bubble up inside him. The Resistance had taken Will from him, there was no way that he was about to let them hurt anyone else. With one flash of his eyes, the mattress went flying off the bed and caused Gwen to come hurrying in. She looked nervous at the display of magic, but seemed to be able to tell that Merlin was still the one in control, despite how things might look.

For his part, Merlin didn’t notice. Instead, he reached down and slowly picked up a small, black cloth bag. Arthur hadn’t even known it was there. He knew that they had given Merlin both Darg’s crystals and Gilli’s ring in order to study the magic of them and try and work out how it was that they functioned. But Arthur had never known that when the warlock had found all that he could, he had stashed them away. Why he thought they would ever be useful, he had no idea.

Yet right now, Merlin’s eyes were burning as he picked them up. Not with magic, but with the same fiery determination he could see in Gwen’s eyes.

“You have a plan?” She asked quietly, her voice firm and certain. Merlin bit his lip, glancing at the crystals in his hand before sighing and shaking his head.

“No. But when do we ever? Let’s do what we do best and improvise.” So saying, he pocketed both of the magical items and led the way back to the door. If he had been relying on the magical trails in order to trace the others, then he would have been sorely disappointed. They simply filtered away to nothing in the movement of the air, meaning that as soon as the door had opened, the magic in the room had started fading. Merlin couldn’t detect anything now. But he had other means.

He could still see the auras of the men, he could still almost feel them. Close, but not too close, it was going to take them a couple of hours to get there.

“You ready to go and save them?”

“I reckon it’s our turn.” Gwen said with a smile. She pocketed her gun and a few items that they thought could be useful from the flat and Merlin shut the door behind them. Yet again, he was telling himself that he would go back there with Arthur, that everything was going to be okay. But at the same time, he knew that he would do anything, _anything_ to make sure that the commander lived. Kilgharrah had said it was his destiny, and Merlin was about to make sure that his destiny survived.

Taking a small step down the corridor, concentrating hard on what it was that his magic was picking up, Merlin jumped as Gwen slipped her hand into his. Merlin looked down at the hands, glanced back up and caught her eye, before smiling softly. He wasn’t in this alone.

Hand-in-hand, the pair of them left the flat again. They had something to focus on now, something to work towards. And that was getting the Round Table – Arthur and Lancelot included – back where they belonged.


	30. Chapter 30

“Come on, Percival, you have to get it open.”

“Why is it up to me, Gwaine, I don’t see you doing anything other than giving your orders!”

“Enough!” Leon barely even had to raise his voice to get the men to listen to him. It had come as no surprise whatsoever when the arguments had started. They might have been able to live together in a reasonably small flat without wanting to murder one another, but Leon knew why. In the flat, they always had the option to leave; they had enough control over their own lives in order to be able to leave whenever it felt like the atmosphere was beginning to be slightly suffocating. Not to mention their constant training meant that any excess energy was normally burnt off and things never got to that stage in the first place.

But as close the team might be, five of them locked in a small cell, knowing that their commander was hurt and alone, was not a good combination. Percival had been trying to force the door for the best part of an hour, and rather than helping, Gwaine had just complained that he hadn’t been able to open it already. It apparently hadn’t occurred to the soldier that magic might have been used in order to make sure that they didn’t escape, and snide, bitter comments were flying left, right and centre. Elyan was sitting in one corner, his head leaning back on the wall and his eyes closed. He had been awake for most part of the night keeping watch, and was still managing to get some rest even despite the arguing. Lancelot was also by the door, but instead just seemed to be quietly studying the hinges rather than joining in with Gwaine and Percival.

“Don’t tell me enough is enough, Leon, you’re not my commander. Arthur is. You know, the same Arthur that we haven’t seen for hours after watching him being dragged past not even conscious.”

“Don’t talk to me like that, Gwaine. You aren’t helping anyone with your comments.”

“Guys…” Lancelot, however, was completely ignored as Leon stepped forward. He had opened his mouth in the first place in order to put a stop to the bickering, but Gwaine’s comments about Arthur had grated on him. Didn’t the man know that he was worried sick about the commander, the boy that he had helped train in the first place? Being told otherwise had never been something that had sat well with Leon.

“At least my comments are riling people up and therefore making them want to escape and get out of here rather than keeping everyone calm and content.” Percival turned at Gwaine’s words, anger in his expression.

“So you think that unless you told me that I wasn’t doing a good enough job, I wouldn’t bother?”

“Enough!” This time, Leon had no choice but to yell, shooting Elyan an apologetic glance as the man blearily cracked his eyes open. He could see the tension in Percival’s shoulders and knew that Gwaine never knew when to back down. The last thing that he wanted right now was for the pair of them to physically come to blows. Not only was he more than aware of the damage they could potentially do to one another, he also knew they would both regret it the second they calmed down again. Regardless of how frustrated and worried they were right now, they were also brothers. Taking it out on each other would get them nowhere.

“Um, guys?” As Gwaine and Percival glared at each other for a long moment, Leon turned his attention to Lancelot. The man had been quiet ever since they had been in here, and Leon knew without having to ask that Arthur was not the only person on his mind. But that was why now that Lance had decided to speak up, Leon was going to make sure that he listened. Lancelot was leaning against the wall, his awkward angle meaning that he could just about peer through the open flap in the door, looking down the corridor.

“What?”

“Arthur’s coming back.” There was a split second of silence before all of them were moving, even Elyan climbing to his feet in order to hurry over. It took a lot of jostling and a few jabs of elbows, but eventually, they got into a position where they could all see out into the corridor beyond. They were just in time – revealing to Leon that Lancelot’s position must have meant that he could effectively see the whole way down the corridor. Storing the information away for a later date, the second in command turned his attention back to outside of the cell just as Arthur was led past.

His hands were bound tightly behind his back and the two guards flanking him had a tight grip on his arms. Judging by the way that he was stumbling, Leon had a feeling that his feet had been bound as well, forcing him to walk along at a shuffle. Whilst it did amuse him that Morgana felt that she had to go to such lengths in order to restrain Arthur, Leon still found that he was biting his lip. Not only was Arthur being kept subdued, there were injuries on him that Leon knew hadn’t been there when he had been dragged past the night before. This was all going to make escaping hard.

All thoughts, however, were pushed from his mind as Arthur seemed to sense that he was being watched. Ever so slightly, his head rolled, not enough to draw attention to it, but enough to shift his view. Leon heard Gwaine swear as a black eye was revealed, yet the tiniest hint of a smile flickered across Arthur’s face when he saw his men watching him. Leon knew how much that would help the commander, knowing they were all alive and together was something that would give him strength, no matter what happened next. Feeling a small gust of wind, Leon glanced down the corridor again.

He only took one look before grabbing Gwaine by the back of his shirt and yanking him back a pace. He was just in time, for Morgana let lose a stream of magic that slammed the small flap shut again, not only removing Arthur from their sight but blocking off any sound from the corridor outside.

“New plan. Gwaine, help Percival try and force the door, Elyan, study those hinges with Lance…”

“Not so fast, boys.”  This time, there was no pre-warning as a burst of magic shot into the cell. With no warning and no chance to prepare themselves, the Round Table were all thrown backwards, crashing into the far wall even as the door swung open. Morgana stood framed in the opening, a smirk on her face as she looked down at where the men were sprawled across the floor.

“You-,” it seemed that Gwaine was so angry that he couldn’t even complete his insult. Instead, the soldier simply leapt to his feet. Easily dodging Elyan’s outstretched hand as his friend tried to pull him back down again, Gwaine ran at Morgana. What he had been hoping to achieve, Leon had no idea, but he could only watch and wince as Morgana raised her hand again. Gwaine’s feet were whipped out from under him, sending him crashing down to the floor with a groan as all of the wind was torn from his lungs at the impact. Percival made to take a step forward – their previous argument apparently forgotten – but froze when Morgana placed her foot over Gwaine’s throat.

“What do you want?” Leon asked calmly, trying to hide how concerned he was. He could see the heels that the woman was wearing, knew that they could be just as much of a weapon as her magic. All she would have to do was move her foot, or even simply press down, and Gwaine wouldn’t be able to breathe. Considering the look on the soldier’s face from where he was sprawled across the floor, Gwaine was also aware of it.

“From you, nothing. From Arthur, a lot. But you could save him, you know. There is one question that he simply refuses to answer, no matter what we try. Just think of how much pain-,” her last three words were accompanied by her slowly putting a little more pressure on Gwaine’s windpipe -,” you could save him if you answer it for me.”

“What do you want?” Lancelot asked quietly, looking completely in control regardless of the fact that his friend was being choked in front of him. Leon knew that it was all just an act, it was a way of trying to deflect the attention from Gwaine and hopefully make Morgana release the pressure on his throat.

“Something simple really.”

“What is it?” Elyan’s voice was slightly stronger than Lancelot’s, but he came to stand next to his friend, fists clenched as he glanced between Morgana and Gwaine. Sensing that he might be needed yet again to stop the team from doing something foolish, Leon too stepped forward. Only rather than standing next to the other three, he placed himself slightly in front. There wasn’t a lot he could do to help Gwaine considering the man’s current position, but he could protect the others from her magic. If she wanted to hurt them, she would have to go through him first.

“Just one small thing…”

“Morgana, answer them.” Leon should have known that using her name was not going to go down well. In fact, it was just as foolish as Gwaine simply running at her. It was a link to their past, a sign that he had known her before all of this, before Morgause. And if there was one thing that Morgana hated to be reminded of, it was the fact that she had once had a good life, friends and people who cared about her before everything had become so twisted and bitter. Leon knew that he could have braced himself against her magic, but he didn’t want the witch to know that they were getting better at resisting being flung. Instead, he just let himself crash into the far wall, watching carefully as Morgana took a step towards him. At least it meant that she had moved away from Gwaine.

“What I want… is the warlock. Where is he?” Leon let his eyes flicker to the rest of them just in time to see them exchanging grins. Then, remarkably, Gwaine laughed.

“No idea, love, sorry.” He didn’t even have time to smirk at the look of fury on Morgana’s face before her next burst of magic knocked him out. But it had been enough for the rest of the men to share a look and nod. Arthur wasn’t giving up Merlin, and neither were they. Not only because he was their commander’s lover, but because he was part of the team, he was one of them. And to give up Merlin would be putting Gwen in danger, meaning that both Lancelot and Elyan were even more determined that the warlock’s whereabouts would remain a secret. If he was honest, Leon wasn’t even sure they could answer that question. They knew where Merlin had gone when he had fled, but considering Arthur had sent the signal, there could be no telling where he was now.

“Then I guess I should ask Arthur again.” Morgana was gone in a flurry of hair and clicking heels, and a silence seemed to echo loudly around the cell as the door slammed shut again. Percival dropped to his knees and began checking Gwaine over even as the rest of them let out a long breath. They knew that antagonising Morgana was never a good thing, especially if Morgause found out about it. But the Round Table protected their own, there was no way they were about to give up his location just because of a sorceress. If Arthur could withstand whatever they were putting him through, then they could withstand Morgana. At least they had each other to rely on for strength rather than being alone like the commander.

“So she’s after Merlin? Arthur is as good as dead, he’ll never give Merlin up.” Percival muttered, sitting back up again. His body language made the rest of the men breathe a sigh of relief – it was a sign that Gwaine was going to be okay.

“Maybe not, but I won’t give up hope yet.” Sitting up with a wince, Leon groaned as he gingerly felt the back of his head. Luckily, the wound didn’t seem to be bleeding, but had instead just left him with a large bump. That was going to hurt later, and he was almost glad that Gwaine was out cold – the man had an extraordinary loud voice when all someone wanted was quiet.

“What do you mean?” Elyan asked softly, moving so that he was yet again sitting down and leaning back against the wall. The man looked as tired as Leon was feeling, but he knew that it was going to be a while before any of them got any proper rest. Until they knew that Arthur was safe, there would be no sleep for them.

“Arthur sent the signal to Merlin and Gwen. Admittedly it would have taken them hours to work out and then just as long to get back, but I have a feeling that whilst Morgana doesn’t know where Merlin is now, she might soon.”

“Why would she find out soon?”  
  
“Because,” Leon said calmly, looking around all of them and finding that he was smiling slightly. He couldn’t explain it, but it was like there was a sense of calmness radiating out from him as he thought about what he was going to say. He wasn’t just saying it, it was something that he truly believed was about to happen. And if it did, Leon knew that they wouldn’t be prisoners for much longer.

“I think he will be coming straight here.”

The look on their faces meant that he knew they were thinking the same as him. If there was one thing they had learnt about the warlock during their six months with him was that Merlin was highly protective. The case with Will had proven that – if someone he cared about was in danger, his magic spiralled straight out of his control. Not only were the whole team imprisoned, Arthur had been hurt. There was a strong chance that he would be in an even worse state by the time that Merlin got here. If the warlock came face to face with that, it didn’t matter if all the sorcerers in the entire place tried to go against him, nothing was going to stop Merlin’s magic.

He would lose control, and in doing so, free them all. Leon could only hope that they would then be able to bring the warlock back before they lost Merlin to the magic as well.

MMM

Merlin stared up at the building towering over him, squeezing Gwen’s hand and swallowing hard. They had been walked for hours, Merlin utterly convinced that he was going to lose the trail of magic before they would find the base for the Resistance. They just seemed to be heading out into open countryside, the land flat for as far as the eye could see. Needless to say, when the cliffs had suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere – one moment there was nothing, the next a sheer cliff-face looking back at them – Merlin knew they were on the right track. Gwen had simply looked confused, but it only took a small amount of magic on Merlin’s behalf to see through the illusion. It wasn’t a cliff at all, but the entrance.

If he was honest, Merlin had been expecting some sort of alarm system, something that threw them back out as soon as they stepped through the image of the cliff. Seeing Gwen had her eyes shut the whole time made him smile, but Merlin found that he was too tense in order to say anything about it. Carefully probing out with his magic, he almost recoiled at the amount of magic he could feel in the air. But strangely enough, no one seemed to have noticed their presence. When he voiced his concerns to Gwen, she simply smiled.

“How badly do you want to find Arthur?”

“More than anything at the moment.” Merlin muttered truthfully, knowing the situation was too dangerous for them to be anything but completely honest with each other. He didn’t know where Gwen was going with this, but still found that it came as a relief as her smile widened. Why did he get the feeling that she knew more about why they were undetected than he did?

“It’s you, Merlin. Your magic wants to find him as much as you do, so it’s making sure that no one finds us first.” Merlin blinked, looking at her in astonishment. But as he registered her words, he could suddenly feel the way that his magic was indeed escaping from him. How could that happen without him knowing about it?

“Don’t stop now!” Gwen yelped, and Merlin blinked himself back into reality. Whilst he had been standing there thinking about his magic, it had tried to start obeying his thoughts again rather than just reacting instinctively, potentially meaning that the shields hiding them might have dropped. Offering Gwen a sheepish smile, Merlin slammed them back into place again, took her hand and pulled her into a small room off to one side.

“What do we do now?” Merlin shook his head at her question, biting his lip. He had truly thought that they would have never have been able to find this place and has spent all his energy focusing on that. Now that they were here, he was no clearer about what they were supposed to do in order to find the team and get them out than Gwen was. Staring around the room, Merlin looked for inspiration even as his hands slid into his pockets in frustration.

It was something that he had always done when he was looking for the answer for something. Often after his visits with Kilgharrah he was seen to be walking around, a scowl on his face and hands deep within the lining of whatever it was that he happened to be wearing at the time. His mother had always scolded him for doing so, claiming that the answers would not be found in the depths of his pockets. But as his hand closed around something lumpy and cool, Merlin grinned.

This time, she was wrong.

Slowly, he pulled out the crystals that he had taken from Darg. Judging by Gwen’s sharp intake of breath, she knew what they were. Merlin studied them for a long moment before a smile spread over his face. They gave him the ability to walk around this whole complex without anyone finding him. They potentially gave him the power to free Arthur.

“We need to lure someone in here. Then we can use the crystals in order to disguise ourselves, find the others and get out of here.”

“The crystals only disguise one, Merlin.” Gwen said softly, seeing straight through the flaw in the plan that he had hoped that she wouldn’t notice. “And we both know that it has to be you that goes in, I wouldn’t stand a chance. I can’t impersonate a sorcerer if I don’t have magic.”

Merlin sighed heavily, not knowing what to do. Gwen was right, it had to be him that went in there, it was the only way that it was going to work. But he couldn’t just leave her standing here and hope that his magic continued to protect her and keeping her hidden. Lancelot and Elyan, maybe even Arthur himself, would never forgive him if something happened to Gwen. Biting his lip, he let his hand drift back into his pocket, and this time, he pulled out Gilli’s ring.

“I can enchant it to keep you safe. As long as you have it on, they won’t be able to detect you. Focusing my magic on an object makes it far more reliable, I can keep you safe. It will be up to you in order to find us a way out, get hold of anything that you can that might be of use, just don’t take any risks.”

The look in Gwen’s eye seemed to indicate that she was as surprised as he was about the fact that it was Merlin taking charge. He had been happy to follow Arthur’s lead whilst he had been with the unit and then had been more than willing to let Gwen take control when they had run. But this time, Merlin felt like he had to. This involved dealing with dark magic. Although Gwen might know about it, Merlin could feel it and he could counteract it. He was the only one with a chance to get in and actually survive long enough to get the others out.

Gwen nodded, clearly realising that Merlin’s plan was the only one that they could use. They didn’t know where they were, where the rest of the team were or what they were about to walk into. In a way, it didn’t matter, no amount of planning would be able to prepare them for what was coming simply because no one knew anything about the Resistance. Taking a deep breath, Gwen let her fingers ghost over the ring before plucking it from Merlin’s hand.

“What do we do?”

It took almost an hour of hiding and cursing before they had the chance to put their plan in motion, however. It was all very well saying that Merlin was going to impersonate someone, but the sorcerers didn’t tend to dwell this close to the entrance unless they had a reason to. With Merlin’s magic cloaking them – that spell was still in place even if he had also focused his magic on the ring – no one was sent to investigate the two intruders who had broken in.

“Merlin!” Gwen’s hiss made the warlock look up. He had been leaning against the wall, pushing out with his magic to try and plant an idea in someone’s mind about coming down here. He knew that it hadn’t worked, it wasn’t the sort of magic that he liked because of how manipulative he knew it could become. Merlin knew it worked – he had accidentally done it on Arthur before and the results had been…interesting. But it was a struggle for him and the warlock had been coming very close to simply smacking his head against the wall and hoping the thud would bring someone down. Glancing towards where Gwen was peering out of the door, he immediately felt his heart beat uncomfortably hard at the tension across her shoulders.

“Someone’s coming?” Moving forward, he didn’t wait to see Gwen’s nod until he reached out and took her by the arm. Yanking her back into the room, Merlin peered out himself. He couldn’t stop the grin splitting over his face as he saw that it was none other than the owner of the crystals heading towards him. He didn’t know what Darg was doing down here, but Merlin was not going to question it. This could be the only chance that they had.

“Ready?” He mouthed at Gwen, who nodded. Merlin tried not to think about how genuinely scary she looked with a tranquiliser in her hand and the look of determination in her eye, but instead turned his attention back to the sorcerer. Letting a low whistle slide through his teeth, Merlin grinned as Darg looked up at him, squinting with a frown as he tried to see through the magic. Predictably, he took a step forward, then another.

As soon as he was in reach, Merlin reached out both physically and with his magic and hauled the man into the room. Darg turned instantly, his hand on a collision course with Merlin’s head.

“Oi!” Gwen’s call made him freeze mid-swing and Merlin kicked out at his legs. Darg fell with a yell and a crash that made both of the trespassers wince, but Merlin found that he was too preoccupied to do anything about it by the fact that Darg had pulled him down as well. The larger man’s weight was pushing down on him and Merlin blinked, slightly dazed, as he tried to get his brain to think of a way out of this. Gwen, however, was still thinking straight and didn’t hesitate. As soon as she had a clear shot of the sorcerer, she took aim and fired. Darg whirled around, jumping to his feet and taking a step towards her before he suddenly stopped. A look of confusion spread across his face before he yet again went crashing down to the floor. This time, he didn’t get up again as the sedative tore through his system.

Crawling over to the man, Merlin drew a small knife from Darg’s pocket. He couldn’t help but feel the irony – Darg’s own weapon was being used against him in order to make everything that he had been fighting for come unravelling. Unlike Darg, however, Merlin had no intention of being deliberately cruel. He simply nicked Darg’s finger, dragging the small cut over the crystals and watching as they glowed. He didn’t know precisely how the man controlled the crystals, but he had found a word that allowed him to activate them.

Letting it roll from his tongue, Merlin took a deep breath and dropped the cord over his neck, letting the crystals come to a rest on his chest. Almost immediately, he could feel the magic working, sinking into his body and beginning to alter it. He could see by the stunned expression on Gwen’s face that it was working, yet he didn’t dare look. He didn’t want to see the man he had just helped knock out simply by staring at his own reflection. It was only when the crystals vanished –all part of the disguise – that Merlin knew it was complete.

“How do I look?” It wasn’t even his voice that came out, but a much deeper one. Darg’s voice. Gwen slowly nodded, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to speak. The look on her face was enough though, Merlin could tell that he looked the part. For a moment, he avoided Gwen’s gaze and let his own eyes flash, reinforcing the protective magic on the ring. They couldn’t guarantee that no one had heard that commotion and Merlin knew that he would never be able to step from this room if he wasn’t sure that he had done all he could in order to protect Gwen.

“Right then, here goes…” He took a step towards the door, but before he could leave, Gwen’s hand slipped into his and she pulled him back. Merlin didn’t even think about what she about to do as her arms were raised. Instead, he just responded by wrapping his own arms around her waist as she encircled his neck.

“Bring them back, Merlin,” she whispered, giving him a squeeze before standing back. Merlin pretended to ignore the way her eyes were swimming with tears and he felt a sense of dread settle into the pit of his stomach. If this went wrong, then they were all dead. If he got taken down, Gwen would have no protection…

Clearing his throat, Merlin tried to force himself to smile before nodding at her. He couldn’t let doubts seep into his mind now, it would ruin everything.

“I will.” He eventually muttered hoarsely, knowing that he had to pull himself together before he went and destroyed their plan. He pulled free of her grip completely before heading towards the door. The warlock paused, one foot in the room and one foot out, forcing himself to take a deep breath and pull everything together.

“Bring our boys home.”

Gwen’s whisper was enough for Merlin to lift his head and step out into the corridor with a confidence that he was by no means feeling. Disguised as his enemy, Merlin began to slowly walk away from Gwen. He just hoped that he was heading in the right direction and was indeed heading towards his destiny.

Or more to the point, that he wasn’t too late to save his destiny.

 


	31. Chapter 31

“Where _is_ he, Arthur?”

The commander mutely shook his head, desperately trying to ignore the way that he could feel flecks of blood coating his lips. He knew that he could account some to the stinging slap that Morgause had delivered him not ten minutes before, but he had a horrible feeling that didn’t explain all of it. After all, the witch had been more than happy to allow Mordred show Arthur precisely how much he hated him, and the blond was convinced that he had at least one cracked rib, maybe two. Gaius had insisted that all soldiers had a basic knowledge of first aid, but he had upped that in Arthur’s case. Apparently their unit was so adept at finding trouble that he had wanted to make sure they stood at least a fighting chance. But it also meant that Arthur was aware that if he didn’t get out of here soon, he might be in very big trouble.

He was back in the same room as before, hands tied to the ceiling. Initially, he had been balancing on tiptoes, but Morgana had put an end to that. It seemed that she was so furious at him for not accepting the easy way, not allowing her to be his kind sister once again – even if she was trying to find answers - that she was now prepared to go the opposite way. Interrupting Morgause mid-sentence, she had simply grasped the handle attached to the rope binding the commander and pulled. Arthur knew he had groaned out loud as his wrists had taken all of his weight and his feet had left the floor, but he still wasn’t going to give them what they wanted.

Mordred had gotten bored when he realised that even using magic wasn’t going to get Arthur to talk. Morgana had left with him, and part of Arthur had hoped it was because, act aside, she did still care for him.  He had never been convinced that she fully wanted the life she now had, and there had been an unusual look in her eye, glimmering just below the fury and the annoyance. It was almost as if she wanted him to fight back – as if she didn’t want to know the location of the warlock any more than Arthur wanted to give it. The commander knew that up until now, nothing had been serious. They might have planned and sent out a few sorcerers to stir things up, but they had never truly been able to take it any further than that. That would change if they got Merlin – whether he would help them or whether they just harnessed his power didn’t matter, it would change the game. And Arthur wasn’t quite sure his sister was ready for that.

“Arthur? I asked you a question!” Blinking as a hand grabbed his chin, Arthur merely sighed as he focused his gaze back on Morgause. It was so easy to just let thoughts of Merlin, of all his men, fill his mind. The desire to protect was stronger than any feelings of pain. Arthur knew that if what they wanted wasn’t so personal, he would have given in by now, even breathing was getting hard. But this was Merlin, the person that had got through Arthur’s defences in a way that even Gwen hadn’t, the one who had completely changed his life in regards to magic. Nothing was going to make him give up the warlock.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Arthur didn’t answer, not liking the gleam in Morgause’s normally expressionless eyes. She looked satisfied, almost as if she had just found a way to get what she wanted. Realising that this was not going to end well for him, Arthur simply sighed. Looking over her shoulder and staring at the blank wall, he instead focused his gaze on that. It may be a small act of defiance not looking at her, but Arthur didn’t care. He was going to resist in every single way possible, no matter what it cost him. A finger stroked his chin gently as Morgause moved in closer.

“Your thoughts betray you, Arthur Pendragon. I don’t need you to tell me where he is, I can simply find out like this.”

Arthur jerked his head back as Morgause’s grip moved from his chin to his temples. Why did he get the feeling that this really wasn’t going to end well for him? The witch had no longer sounded annoyed, but smug, happy almost. His struggles didn’t do anything other than cause her to let a spark of magic fly from her fingertips. Arthur groaned as it felt like a fist had just been driven into his gut, but even as his legs made to curl up, his body reacting instinctively to the blow it believed had been struck, Morgause resumed her position, keeping her hands on his head.

“No!” Arthur growled as she began to chant, almost feeling the way that the magic was beginning to seep into him. It was almost soft and caressing, teasing its way gently into his mind. Whilst even he couldn’t deny that not having more pain was a blessing, it was so much harder to fight back like this.

“Give in, Arthur. Let the thoughts of the man you love fill you up.” Arthur had no idea how they had found out that him and Merlin were together. It was something that he knew should have been worrying him, yet at that precise moment in time, he couldn’t bring himself to think about it. The magic was making his eyes flicker, making him feel tired and weak, as if all the strength was simply being stolen from his body. Unable to stop himself, the commander found that his eyes fell shut and his head dropped, resting on his chest from where he no longer had the strength to hold it up. Images of Merlin – his clear eyes, that cheeky and infectious smile that Arthur couldn’t get enough of – filling his head.

“That’s it, Arthur, think of him. Allow the memories to fill you up, bring into your mind the last time you saw him.” Morgause’s voice was soft and gentle, nothing like the vindictiveness Arthur had come to associate with the witch. Involuntarily, he found that he was almost doing as she said, almost as if he had no power to resist her words whatsoever. As his eyes fell shut, Merlin swam before his vision, their hasty goodbye as they tried to get the warlock out before Aredian turned up.

But then Arthur winced. It was as if something was working its way into his head, something invasive and dangerous. He tried to open his eyes again, tried to do something in order to make himself think straight about what was happening, but Morgause had a grip on his mind by this point. Like a vice, a cold and suffocating feeling drove into Arthur’s head and despite telling himself previously that they wouldn’t get a sign of pain out of him if he could help it, the commander gasped. It felt as if every inch of his consciousness  was slowly being strangled, and the only thing that he could think of was Merlin.

“That’s it, bring the words to life again, Arthur. Where did you send him?” Arthur snarled, trying to pull his mind free of the witch. She couldn’t do this – she couldn’t simply invade his mind and force him to show her where Merlin had gone when the commander had spent so long protecting Merlin. But as Morgause probed deeper, clearly trying to hear the exchange rather than just seeing it, Arthur suddenly found that there was a soft smile playing over his lips.

He was doing what she wanted, he was thinking of the last time that he had been with Merlin. But he himself didn’t know where they were going. Oh, he could have guessed, of course, he knew the way Gwen’s mind worked. Merlin was dangerous when he wasn’t sure of something, so Gwen would have taken him to a place of safety, a place where Merlin would know control. But it had never been said.

“Come on, Arthur, let me in, reveal those thoughts to me.” Morgause whispered, clearly believing that the couple were talking about where Merlin was going to flee to. Arthur let his smile spread as he focused his mind clearly on that one conversation with Merlin. Everything he felt around the warlock, all the things he didn’t think he would ever get to say floated to the front of his mind and Arthur grasped onto them tightly. It focused his mind, it stopped all other thoughts other than Merlin into his head.

It was what Morgause had wanted him to do, but yet it was getting her nowhere. Arthur still wasn’t revealing the location of where the warlock would have gone, simply because he didn’t know. He might have ideas, but there was nothing in his head that Morgause would be able to get her hands on to know for sure. Even if she got a glimmer of where she thought Merlin might be, Arthur knew that she would be fully aware that the warlock would have moved on from there, that he would have somehow found out that the others were in trouble.

Eventually, Morgause withdrew from the commander’s head with a snarl, causing Arthur to let out the long breath that he wasn’t aware that he had been holding. That was why he hated magic at times, it just seemed to be a cheat. It didn’t matter how strong a man was, what he could withstand both physically and mentally, bring magic into the mix and he was just as helpless as a small child. Rolling his shoulders slightly to try and alleviate some of the tension, Arthur grimaced at the way they screamed in protest from being forced to hold all of his weight for so long. Morgause moved back in front of him as the door opened, both Morgana and Mordred slipping through at the same time.

“Has he revealed the location yet?” Morgana asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Arthur’s heaving chest. He knew the look on her face, knew that it meant that she didn’t exactly approve of Morgause using magic like that. He couldn’t figure out whose side his sister was on right now, and that was irritating Arthur. He needed Morgana, she could potentially be their way out of there, but unless she gave him something definite to work with, he just had to treat her like the enemy.

“His mind is stronger than we thought.” Morgause admitted, and Arthur had to smirk even as he shifted again. She sounded genuinely annoyed that she couldn’t get what she wanted from the man she considered to be beneath her. Mordred stepped forward, his fist causing Arthur’s head to snap back. But even as Arthur felt the hot trickle of blood running from his nose, it didn’t stop the smirk from being wiped off his face. If he could just keep this up, it meant that he was winning.

“Then maybe we should pay attention to his men. Maybe we should let their worst nightmares in to see them, would they make you talk, commander?” Morgana muttered softly, moving closer to her suspended brother and watching him with a frown. Despite not wanting to give away his feelings on anything they said, Arthur was hard pushed to hide his shudder. Morgana saw it and grinned.

“What do you think, sister? Think that brave and handsome Gwaine could withstand another visit from Darg? After two already this year. He is the man’s personal hell, isn’t he?”

“Leave them out of this,” Arthur rasped, lifting his head in order to glare at her. Morgana returned his gaze, but Arthur didn’t miss the way her eyes flickered momentarily to Morgause, almost as if asking for direction.

“We’re not the ones who brought them into it, Arthur. You are. You can still protect them though, just give up the warlock’s location. One life for five. How can that be so hard, you are a practical man. Merlin will be given a choice about whether he wants to live or not. Your men will not. Consider the odds.”

“No.” Arthur knew his men. Knew that they would support him, no matter what decision he made and regardless of the consequences that it ultimately meant for them. He also knew that leading them to Merlin would also lead them to Gwen. The warlock might be given a chance, but Gwen would not. This was not just about him protecting Merlin, it was about protecting everyone. They would understand that and try and do the same thing.

“Very well. Mordred, find Darg and tell him he is allowed to play.”

“What about him?” Mordred protested, his young face falling as he seemed to realise that he would no longer be allowed to do what he wanted to Arthur if they were focusing his attention on the men.

“Don’t worry about him, he only has two days to live.” Morgause said casually, heading towards the door but pausing before she left. Both Arthur and Morgana were frowning at her.

“We’re going to kill him?”

“We already have, dear sister. Or have you forgotten the date? Our source didn’t just reveal the Round Table’s whereabouts, he so helpfully told me about the medication that Gaius has been prescribing our young commander there. It seems that our magic did work all that time ago, Arthur is almost constantly in the fight for his life. If I have the dates right, another two days and he’ll be in trouble. Without that medication, you’ll die, won’t you?”

The last part was addressed to Arthur, but the commander once again had fixed his gaze on the wall over her head. How was he supposed to admit that they were right when he had been thinking the same thing? They wouldn’t need to do anything else to him in order to make him suffer and ultimately die. All they had to do was make sure that he didn’t get out for a few days. Considering his positioning and the current state of him, Arthur knew that was not something they had to worry about.

Morgause left the room, the other two sweeping out after her and leaving Arthur hanging from the ceiling. He growled under his breath, wrenching at his hands and causing his legs to swing wildly as he tried to find a way of breaking free. He had to get out of here – not only to save his own life but because he couldn’t help but think Morgause had a point. Could Gwaine survive another round with Darg considering their history, or would it get to the man too deeply?

Arthur knew at the end of the day, it didn’t matter what they did to him. It was personal with him, he had a very slim chance of ever leaving this place because of his history and family ties to the witches. But what he could do was make sure that he gave his men a fighting chance if nothing else. Allowing that thought to consume him, Arthur began to struggle.

MMM

It was so hard to walk along a corridor looking as if everything was normal when inside, Merlin’s heart was pounding nineteen to the dozen. It didn’t help that whilst he knew the spell had worked, Gwen’s reaction was enough to prove that, he didn’t particularly feel any different. Every time he walked past something with a reflection surface, Merlin found that he was either checking the spell was still holding, or doing a double take, thinking that Darg was following him. The sooner that this was over, the better in his mind.

“Darg!” In a way, Merlin was glad that he was on edge. When the name was called, the warlock found himself jumping almost a foot in the air. It wasn’t a reaction to the name, just another voice being heard. Yet after a few seconds, he realised that he _should_ be reacting, that the name being called was, for all extents and purposes, his own. Slowly turning, Merlin scowled, wondering how he was that Darg would normally act.

The young man in front of him took Merlin by surprise. He had to be a couple of years younger than the teenager, fifteen at the most. With a head of thick, curly hair, he looked far too innocent to be in a place like this. Yet his aura almost pulsed of darkness, oozing out from him in a way that almost made Merlin shudder. Just in time he managed to collect himself, but it was hard not to react. Especially considering he recognised the aura. He had felt it back at the flat, most dominantly in the same corner that he knew Arthur had been in. This _boy_ was no doubt responsible personally for anything that had happened to the commander, and it took every ounce of his self-control for Merlin to keep a lid on his magic. It would be no good to give away the game now.

“What?”

“What did Morgana tell you about speaking to me like that? Besides, I bring joyous news. Come with me.” Merlin glanced around wildly for a moment, trying to find some excuse about why he couldn’t go with the young man. But he knew that he had no choice, and fell behind him. He matched the boy’s speed, but made sure that he hung back slightly, putting enough distance between them so that if he needed to run, he could.

“I don’t know why you should get to be the one who goes in there. I’ve been the one they have been using to get information out of their leader. Just because you might be the one that one of them is scared of doesn’t mean that you get all rights, it’s not fair.”

Despite the way the boy was grumbling, Merlin found that his pace was picking up to hear better. He could only think of one person that Darg had a history with that Morgana would want to exploit. Gwaine. Considering what Mordred had just been saying about him being the one who was having dealings with Arthur, Merlin thought that he was beginning to piece together what it was that was going on. Arthur had information that they wanted, and because the man had a combination of training and just pure damn stubbornness, they couldn’t get it out of him. Knowing how much the commander cared for his men meant that they were using them as a weakness against the commander, trying to get Arthur to talk by threatening those he cared about.

It made Merlin’s stomach churn when he thought about what it could mean that they had already done to Arthur in order to try and get the answers out of him. It was horrible and evil, and yet Merlin knew it was the best piece of news that he could receive. He wouldn’t have to try and find where the men were being held and then break them out without drawing attention to himself. He was being led there and was simply going to be handed the key. It was perfect.

The boy didn’t stop grumbling the whole journey there. Through his mutterings and the way he seemed to be taking to himself, Merlin managed to discover that his name was Mordred. At least that meant he wouldn’t look so gormless if the boy addressed him directly, but it was also interesting what else he could pick up. The youth seemed to have a special bond with Morgana, and yet seemed almost jealous of the close relationship the woman had with her sister. Storing the information away for a later date in case it became a battle of wits in order to get out of here, Merlin stayed quiet. It seemed that luck (or destiny, he couldn’t help but drily think) was working with him this time and Mordred didn’t seem to think that Darg was acting out of the ordinary at all.

Merlin wasn’t sure whether they had literally been walking for miles, or whether it was because he was so on edge that each step he took, someone was going to notice that he was an imposter, but it seemed to take them an age in order to reach wherever it was that the men were being held. Unable to stop himself, Merlin shivered slightly in the cool air, causing Mordred to smirk as he unhooked a set of keys from his belt. He might have been young, but it was more than obvious that Morgana trusted him explicitly. Merlin knew that considering the importance of their prisoners, not many people would be granted access.

Mordred placed the key in the lock, but sent a stream of magic into the room as he opened the door. There were a few muffled thuds and a grunt of pain, and Merlin had a feeling he knew what had just happened. Sure enough, the team were all being held against the far wall. As Mordred stepped back to let “Darg” inside, he let them go again, but his eyes glinted dangerously.

“You better tell him what he wants to know, boys. Things are about to get a whole lot worse if you don’t co-operate.”

“Where’s Arthur?!” Leon yelled, making to take a step forward but was stopped by Percival. The man seemed to be holding both Leon and Gwaine back, but whilst the former was going for Mordred, the latter had his attention locked on Darg, his mouth open in a wordless snarl. Merlin found that he was swallowing almost nervously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Well, come on, Darg, I haven’t got all day.”

“I’m doing nothing with you here.”

“How dar…”

“If Morgana wants answers, you will leave me be.” Merlin knew that he was slipping slightly as he turned to face Mordred. His eyes were ablaze with power, and the young sorcerer looked at him in surprise for a long moment. But the power was clearly saying what the words were not and Mordred backed up.

“I’ll be back in an hour. Make sure they talk whilst you play.” He muttered, turning on his heel and disappearing. As the door banged shut behind him, Merlin sighed, leaning back on the wall.

“That was close.”

“You won’t get answers from us, you bastard. We’re not telling you a damn thing, especially not if that involves betraying a friend. So why don’t you just crawl back to where you came from and leave us alone.”

“What?” Merlin barely even had time to blink before Percival’s hold on Gwaine slackened. The soldier tore free from his grip and lunged forward, his hands wrapping around Darg’s thick neck.

“Gwaine, no, wait, it’s me…” Merlin gasped, but he knew that the man was too far gone in his anger in order to hear him. Lancelot stepped forward out of the corner of his eye, his brow crumpled in confusion as if he was paying attention to what was being said, yet no one was making any move in order to stop him. Realising that he was going to need to breathe if he was going to be able to persuade them not to kill him, Merlin muttered an apology before letting his eyes flash. To give Gwaine some credit, he almost withstood it, making Merlin feel proud that they had listened to what he had been trying to teach them. But no one could withstand the warlock’s power and the soldier was flung to the other side of the room. Merlin made sure that he didn’t crash into the wall, however, but lowered him gently even as he leant back, rubbing his neck.

Gwaine got slowly to his feet, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“What is it?” Elyan muttered, clearly reading the look on his friend’s face. Gwaine shook his head, staring at who he thought was Darg.

“He doesn’t have magic that strong.”

“So maybe he killed someone else.” Elyan clearly didn’t mean to sound that bitter, but considering the circumstances, he didn’t have a lot of patience left.

“Or maybe he _is_ someone else.” Merlin responded, his hand grasping for the crystals around his neck. They were invisible whilst the spell worked, but he could still feel them. He locked eyes with Gwaine and yanked them off, immediately feeling his body settling back to its usual smaller size.

“Merlin?” Lancelot breathed, as if not daring to believe who was now in front of him. Merlin grinned.

“You didn’t think I would just leave you here when I could be saving your sorry arses and getting to be the hero for once, did you?” His light hearted tone by no means met his eyes though, and Merlin knew that he couldn’t have actually looked much better than the men who had been in the fight for their lives and then held prisoner. Lack of sleep did that to a man.

“How-?”

“I went to the flat. I could trace it, we ended up here.”

“We?”

“She’s safe, Lance, I promise.” Sitting down cross legged on the floor, Merlin found that he was tentatively reaching out with his magic, trying to get a feel for if any of the men were badly hurt. There were a few bumps and bruises, and a tension in the air that Merlin knew could be cut with a knife. It seemed that imprisonment didn’t suit, but all in all, they were okay.

“What are they after?” Merlin had a feeling that there was something that he was missing, something that should have been obvious and staring him in the face as the team all glanced at each other, Elyan looking like he was trying not to smile.

“You.”

Merlin blinked, not quite processing what had just been said.

“Me? Why, do they think that Arthur won’t crack if they are just using you guys, so they are coming after me in order to get him to say what they want? I’m telling you now, I won’t let him be a protective prat like that, I won’t let them use me against…”

“No, Merlin.” Leon interrupted gently, coming to kneel by his side and resting a hand on the warlock’s shoulder. “They literally want you. They keep asking after you, wanting to know where you are, everything like that. They want your power – they’ll either get you to join them or…”

“Or they’ll tear me apart so they can use my power that way.” Merlin whispered quietly, his heart pounding had. He had never considered that this might be some sort of trap for him, that the Round Table wouldn’t be enough for Morgana. No doubt she was thrilled that it was her brother’s team who had picked him up in the first place rather than Aredian, knowing that she could suddenly make this personal.

“We have to get out of here.”

“We have to get Merlin out of here.”

“We have to get Arthur out…”

“We are _all_ getting out of here,” Merlin interrupted through their mumblings, knowing they had a point but also knowing that someone had to take charge. There was no use arguing over who was more important to get out and therefore wasting time when they could be putting said escape plan into action.

“Do any of you have any idea how to get out?” Merlin asked, realising only now that his whole plan had been about getting in. The men glanced at each other and nodded slightly, causing the warlock to grin. He should have known that they wouldn’t have just been sitting here. They were a team, an army unit. They would never stop trying to escape whilst they had each other and something worth fighting for.

“But all our plans involve finding where Arthur is. Something that we don’t know.”

“I gathered.” Merlin muttered, thinking back to what they had said the second that he had walked through the door. His fingers toyed with the crystals, knowing that there was just enough power in them to be able to turn him once again. After that, he would be forced to spill more blood if he wanted to keep up the appearance, something that he wasn’t sure he could do now that the adrenaline was beginning to ease away a little.

“You can find him, Merlin. Like that, you can walk around this whole place and no one would even look twice at you.”

“But I’d get hopelessly lost, don’t you think that would be a bit of a give-away?” Whilst the conversation had been going on around him, Leon had been staying silent in the corner. When Merlin glanced at him, he was shocked to see that the man’s face had almost gone ashen in colour. He knew that he was worried about his commander, they all were. It was just unlike Leon to be the one to visibly show it, he had too much of the army in him.

“Leon?”

“Merlin, how long have you and Arthur been together for now?”

“Eight months the day after tom…shit.” Merlin’s voice trailed off as he realised what Leon was getting at. Understanding dawned on Lancelot and Elyan’s faces, but Gwaine just looked blank.

“Why does that matter?”

“What happened the night that they got together, Gwaine? Why is it that Arthur will never forget the date?” Percival swore darkly from the corner as Gwaine too realised what was being said.

They had two days to find Arthur, escape from sorcerers that not only wanted them dead, but wanted Merlin killed in the most painful way possible and get the commander back to the flat. Before he needed his medication. Merlin wasn’t sure whether he could work the magic like he had done before, it had just happened instinctively. They needed to move.


	32. Chapter 32

Merlin couldn’t quite believe not only how easily he had been able to find the team, but the fact that none of them seemed any worse for wear considering the fight that he knew they must have been through. There was no way that the Round Table would have been taken quietly, and judging by what he had sensed at the flat, he knew it had been violent. When Leon had quietly taken him to one side and told him about what they had seen of Arthur, however, Merlin found that it took every ounce of self-control to rein his magic in enough to stop it toppling the whole building. He couldn’t believe how much time he had wasted in approaching cautiously, when all of that time Arthur had been being hurt. Regaining control and nodding his understanding, Merlin listened intently as the rest of the unit began to plan. Now that they had a way of walking out of the door, everything seemed so much easier.

Lancelot was adamant that he was going straight to Gwen, and no one had the heart to argue with him. Especially not Merlin, he was worried about how long the enchantment he had placed on Gilli’s ring would hold for. The last thing that he wanted was for her to be left open and exposed. Not only would Lance never forgive him, Merlin wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive himself. She had been the one to get him through this up until now; it was up to him to repay the favour.

But that was when problems had started. Leon wanted the whole team to go with Lancelot, to get themselves out whilst they had the chance whilst he helped Merlin look for Arthur. Gwaine, however, had flatly refused, claiming that he was just as worried about the commander as Leon was. When he threw in the argument about them possibly needed more than one person to help get Arthur out, chaos had ensued.

In the end, Merlin had to let a spark of magic jump from his fingers in order to get their attention and make himself heard. He proposed that he went and looked for Arthur alone. As everyone else began to yell out protests, he managed to get across that, disguised as Darg, he would be able to not only get close to the commander, but potentially get him out without anyone even looking twice. Darg had been part of the team that had attacked the Round Table, why shouldn’t he be part of helping to destroy it properly? If anyone asked, he could just say that he was moving the prisoner.

Naturally, that hadn’t gone down well. Decisions were eventually made, and that was why Merlin now found himself peering anxiously around a corner, Leon and Gwaine right on his heels. Percival and Elyan had gone with Lancelot, not only to get to Gwen and make sure that she was safe, but to secure a route out for them as well. Neither Leon nor Gwaine could be persuaded to go with them, and now that the arguments had stopped and he found himself here, Merlin was glad. Even in disguise, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be roaming these hallways on his own without some sort of backup.

“Left or right?” he hissed, only sparing them a quick glance over his shoulder. Both soldiers appeared to have their hands bound, yet it was so lose that with one flick, they would be free. Luck had been on their side and they had managed to jump a couple of guards even as they left the cell, meaning that they were also armed. Merlin’s magic couldn’t do everything.

“Right,” Leon muttered back, and Merlin didn’t even question how he knew. Leon always seemed to know where to go, no matter where they were. Add Arthur being in trouble into the mix, and Merlin knew without a doubt that the second in commander would lead them in the right direction. With the corridor appearing clear, Merlin strode out, attempting to look as confident as he could. Leon and Gwaine stumbled after him, but Merlin was fully aware that it was just for show. They were no more weakened than he was.  
The first obstacle appeared when the clicking of heels could be heard coming down the corridor towards him. Merlin glanced at Gwaine, who in turn looked to Leon. The soldier spun sharply on the spot, looking for somewhere that they could hide in, but no escape route made itself present in their moment of desperation. As the heels came even closer, Merlin reacted.

One blast of magic pinned Leon against the wall whilst a second forced Gwaine to the floor. Reaching into a pocket, Merlin felt the cold edge of Darg’s knife and let his hand grip around it. Winking at the pair, he wrapped an arm around Gwaine’s neck even as he pulled out the knife.

“Make it believable.” Merlin hissed, only just getting the words out before Morgana came around the corner. Even though he had never met the witch, Merlin didn’t need to be told it was her. Not only could he feel her magic – realising in that split second that she would also be able to feel his – but there was something in her that gave away her relationship with Arthur. Not her looks, they couldn’t have been more different. But the way she held herself, the pride spiralling from her eyes. It was exactly the same way that Arthur stood, and when she glanced at them, Merlin could see that there was the same steely glint. Whilst Arthur’s determination was driven by compassion and the need to do the right thing, Morgana’s was almost a swirl of different feelings. She knew what she wanted, but Merlin could tell that she wasn’t quite sure how to get it.

Luckily, the two soldiers didn’t freeze as much as he did.

“Let him go!” Leon yelled, struggling against Merlin’s magic and looking for the entire world like he was worried about his friend. In turn, Gwaine tried to wrench out of Darg’s hold, his eyes wide. It was a good job that Morgana didn’t know her brother’s team as well as she knew him, for even Merlin could tell that Gwaine’s expression of fear was faked.  
“What are you doing, Darg?” She asked, a small frown gracing the bridge of her nose. Merlin knew that she could probably sense the fact that his magic was far stronger than what she was used to getting from the sorcerer, and could only hope that she was too preoccupied to question it.

“They didn’t want to play nice,” Merlin snarled, tightening his grip on Gwaine and glaring at Leon. He had no idea how Darg would react to something like this, and just hoped that he was at least on the right lines.

“I was taking them down there, y’know, try and get through their thick heads.” Placing his foot on Gwaine’s back, Merlin forced the soldier further down, trying to bite back a wince as he held him there.

“Just make sure you don’t kill them, they are the only leverage will still hold over Arthur.” With those words, Morgana swept off. Feeling guilty, Merlin released the magic almost before she was out of sight and both Gwaine and Leon groaned as they were allowed to move from their positions.

“So what the hell is down there?” Gwaine muttered, staring in the direction that Merlin had indicated. The warlock shrugged, thinking the same thing himself. Morgana had accepted that he was taking them down the corridor, meaning that something was down there. Something, Merlin couldn’t help but feel, that would not be very pleasant.

“My guess is Arthur.” Leon took a step forward, and Merlin could see the way that his hands were itching to go for his gun. Rolling his eyes, he waved his hand and released the bindings around their hands.

“If something is down there, you need to be able to react immediately.” Gwaine nodded, already drawing his gun and beginning to head down the corridor. Not wanting him to get too far ahead, Leon and Merlin hurried to catch up. They hadn’t made it a few steps before they heard a muffled cry of pain mingled with annoyance, and the trio stopped, sharing uneasy glances.

“There is only one person I know that can sound annoyed whilst being hurt.”

“Arthur.”

That was the only word that was needed for them to suddenly pick up their pace yet again. It didn’t help that footsteps were now coming from behind them, yet all three knew that they didn’t have time to set up another performance again. Just as they reached a row of doors, Gwaine grabbed Merlin’s arm and dragged him off to one side, almost pinning him against the wall.

“What? What is it?”

“When Darg took me, you could tell the difference, right?”

“Yes. My magic is stronger than a sorcerers’, I can see through disguises.”

“Same as a witch.”

“Ye-shit!”

“What?” Leon glanced between the two of them, clearly trying to work out what had them so agitated. Gwaine shook his head, flicking the safety of his weapon and taking up position.

“Morgana would have seen who Merlin was. She would have known the second she saw us who she was dealing with.”

“So why didn’t she… trap?” Merlin might have got better during his six months with the team, but he didn’t pick things up as quickly. Leon swore as the warlock tried to find an explanation, also drawing his weapon.

“She must have wanted us to come further down the corridor. We still could have gone more than one way where she saw us, she wanted us down here. Meaning there will be no other way out. Those footsteps you can hear heading our way? Something tells me that is our welcome party.”

“So what do we do?” Merlin cried, staring both ways down the corridor and letting his magic fill him up. Leon shot him a somewhat reassuring glance, mirroring Gwaine and beginning to settle himself into a defensive stance.

“You will go and find Arthur. It’s only Morgana and Morgause that can see through your disguise, and we know that Morgana is in the opposite direction. You should still be able to get in, do whatever it takes to get Arthur out.”

“And what about you?” Merlin didn’t want to admit that he had already taken a step towards where they had heard the cry of pain before he spoke, his mind filled with thoughts of finding Arthur before he had registered the danger that Gwaine and Leon would be in if they stayed where they were.

“We’re going to give you a way out, mate. Now go and get the princess.” Gwaine’s casual remark, probably helped by the slight smirk he had on his face, reassured Merlin more than he could say. The two of them were soldiers; this was what they did best. They had been doing it long before they had the added benefit of Merlin’s magic, and he knew better than to underestimate them.

“Be careful.”

“Just go, Merlin, we’ll be fine.” Merlin knew better than to argue when Leon used that tone of voice. Giving his friends one last look even as the footsteps drew even closer, Merlin turned and ran. It didn’t take him long to locate a row of doors even as gunshots could be heard behind him. Knowing that he had to both keep up the pretence of being Darg and locate Arthur as quickly as possible, Merlin shut his eyes. Reaching out with his magic, he let it seep into the rooms surrounding him, searching for Arthur’s aura. If Arthur was here, then so would his aura, it was something that Merlin was getting better and better at recognising. Since examining the flat, he knew that he would be able to find it even easier than before.

Sure enough, it only took a moment or two of probing before he could feel Arthur. Merlin was hard pushed not to yell out loud at how faded the feeling seemed to be, almost as if Arthur was only just hanging on. Vaguely aware that Gwaine was yelling something to him from behind, yet not being able to make out the words, Merlin took that as his signal to move in.

Checking that he was still looking like Darg, Merlin took a deep breath. If Morgause was in there, it would all be for nothing. Yet he had to pretend, he had to act as if he was precisely where he should be and no one needed to question it. It did help that Merlin knew part of it was the truth – he was where he should be.

Letting a trickle of magic stream from his fingers and into the lock, Merlin braced himself as he heard Arthur’s voice through the door. Whoever it was in there was definitely not Morgause, the responding voice was certainly male. Realising that this might just work, Merlin opened the door.

MMM

The room was dark and cold, yet Arthur knew that was the least of his worries. His body was shuddering almost violently and he knew that there were flecks of blood coating his lips. It wasn’t like he could help it, not when huge coughs were forcing their way out of his chest as his body protested all that it had just been put through. He was in trouble, the commander was more than aware of that fact. Not only did he have to find a way of getting out of here in less than two days in order to make sure that he didn’t simply die, he knew that escape was going to be almost impossible. Not because of the fact the place was crawling with sorcerers – for someone so blunt, Arthur knew when subtlety was needed – but because of the state that he was in.

Not that that was going to stop him from trying. Even hanging there in the dark, his feet clear of the floor and his wrists taking his weight, Arthur knew that he had to continue to fight. It didn’t matter that he could feel the trickle of blood running down his arms, or that every small movement sent waves of agony through the now open wounds on his wrists, he had to get out of there. It wasn’t just him that he had to free, it was all of his men. They never left anyone behind – they wouldn’t go without him and he wouldn’t go without them. He just hoped that they stayed together to make it easier.

“That doesn’t look very comfortable.” The voice came out of the darkness, causing Arthur to start in surprise. He wasn’t sure whether or not he had managed to hide his jolt. Having been so determined to not show any sign of weakness for however long they had been questioning him for, Arthur was kicking himself for not having heard Mordred re-enter the room. He had no clue as to how long the younger man had been there, and only hoped that when his struggles had been frantic and desperate, Mordred hadn’t seen. He didn’t want to give the sorcerer anything that could theoretically be turned back around on himself.

“What do you want?” Arthur muttered in irritation, falling still and letting his body hang again. He wouldn’t give Mordred the satisfaction of seeing him trying to squirm his way out of restraints that were clearly designed for this very purpose. 

“For you to show me the respect that I deserve.” Mordred said coldly, and Arthur was hard pushed not to roll his eyes. The boy was still young, no doubt that his power and the fact that Morgana trusted him were going to his head. Deciding that maybe, just this once, he would do as he was told, Arthur tensed. He drew his legs up, bunched the muscles together and lashed out, planting his foot firmly in Mordred’s stomach. It was only the quick use of magic that saved the boy from hitting the floor. As he turned back to Arthur, eyes flashing dangerously, the commander smirked.

“I was only showing you the respect you deserved. Why don’t we make this a fair fight. Untie me, let me down and then we can do it properly. After all, it can’t make you feel any better about yourself when the only man that you can defeat is one tied up?”

“You weren’t tied up in the flat, Pendragon. And you dropped like a stone, helpless and completely at my mercy. If Morgana hadn’t wanted to talk to her precious brother, I would have killed you there and then.”

“And that’s what you have come to do now, isn’t it?” How Arthur realised, he wasn’t sure. But there was a gleam in Mordred’s eye that hadn’t been there before. He had been given a new type of power. Not one that had anything to do with magic, but the type of power that men had been fighting over for years. He had been given the power of life and death over Arthur.

“Morgause knows you won’t talk. Unfortunately, I have to make it look like you’ve succumbed to your injuries, meaning I can’t do precisely what I want. But never mind, I have waited a long time for this.”

“They know that I’m going to die anyway, why would they do this?” It didn’t add up, Morguase had only just been gloating about the fact that Arthur wasn’t going to be getting out of here alive. A look of irritation flickered over Mordred’s face.

“Apparently there has been an issue with your men. They won’t help any more than you will, but Morgause thinks she can get the message across with your broken body.” Arthur just smirked, rolling his shoulders as he did so. He should have known. The Round Table were a unit, a team. By putting the rest of them together, they had kept them strong and unified. There was no way that they would have just sat around waiting for something to happen when escape was possible. Whatever they were up to, their leader knew that it had to be enough of a threat if Morgause was making sure that Arthur didn’t survive. That gave Arthur strength; it meant that he knew his men, his family, had a fighting chance.  
“Not that their resistance will get them anywhere.”

There was something about the way that Mordred spoke that made Arthur realise that there would be no reasoning with the man. It was like he had gone insane, drunk and giddy on power and not quite knowing what way was up and down anymore. Arthur knew that he would damn himself to hell a hundred times over before he begged for anything, even his life, in front of the brat.

“Get on with it then.” He muttered dismissively, fixing his gaze on something over the young man’s shoulder. He was not going to give in, even now. Judging by the look that flickered momentarily across Mordred’s expression, he realised that and was disappointed, but wouldn’t risk losing his chance to kill Arthur by going against his orders. One hand was placed on Arthur’s chest and the commander had to physically stop himself from recoiling at the touch.

As Mordred began chanting under his breath, his eyes flashing dangerously with both magic and hatred, Arthur had to bite his lip in order to stop the hiss of pain from escaping him. He knew what the sorcerer was doing. He wasn’t just making it look like Arthur had died of his injuries, that was what he was making happen. Every single bruise or scrap that the commander had received during the fight was being intensified, and Arthur knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

It only took a couple of moments before Arthur could feel the corners of his vision beginning to darken. Biting his lip, the commander focused on that one small, sharp pain, trying to ground himself and find some way of fighting back. He couldn’t just let himself be killed like this, it wasn’t right. But even the sting of pain did nothing to mask the way that his body was protesting violently at the treatment, beginning to shut down around him.

Just before he lost consciousness, however, Arthur was jerked back into reality by a door slamming open. Mordred’s hand drew back, causing Arthur to let out a breath that he didn’t even know he had been holding. It was as if a flood of warmth trickled into him now that the boy had let go, and the commander managed to shift slightly on his tattered wrists, the sharp sting helping him focus a little more. But all positive thoughts quickly left his head when he realised that it was Darg standing there.

“What are you doing here? You were supposed to be dealing with the others.” Mordred spat, clearly not liking the interruption. It didn’t help that he was trying to give orders to someone that he literally had to look up to.

“Thought I’d come and join in the real fun. Why settle for the minions when you can take the commander?” Darg grunted, not looking the slightest bit intimidated by Mordred’s tone. Arthur shifted again, only this time it was almost in a self-conscious manner. Darg seemed to be watching him closely, almost too closely, and it was making the commander feel uncomfortable. Instead, he yet again returned his gaze to the wall, pretending like the two sorcerers in front of him weren’t arguing over who was going to kill him.  
“Morgause wouldn’t give this task to anyone else, you’re lying. You just want him for yourself.” The glare on Mordred’s face would have normally made lesser men at least step back. But Darg seemed to grin.

“I hoped you might resist leaving.” Arthur only just had time to glance back at them, confused by Darg’s words, before Mordred was sent flying across the room. He hit the wall hard, his head letting out an audible smack before he crumpled to the ground, lying still. Both Arthur and Darg watched him for a long moment, waiting for a sign that this was another trick of some sort, but the young sorcerer didn’t get up again. Sighing, Arthur shut his eyes.

“Go on then, get on with it. You’re obviously here to kill me, just do it.” He was tired, tired of being used as a puppet for these people to take revenge. Arthur wasn’t even sure what it was they wanted revenge on, he just assumed that it was because he was responsible for orchestrating the rehabilitation of so many of them. He might have told Merlin that he didn’t know what happened after they had dropped sorcerers off at the cells, but that had been a lie. If the commander had thought that he was simply sending men to their deaths by taking them there, then he would have never have done it. He just hadn’t been sure how the warlock would react to know that the men who would have normally tried to tear him apart were free once more. But the Resistance must know that their men were still alive. Meaning Arthur wasn’t quite sure why they were so adamant that he wasn’t going to be getting out of this alive.

“Oh, Arthur.” Before the commander could process what was happening, a trickle of magic washed over him. It was warm and familiar, comforting as it eased away some of the pain. The commander frowned, staring at Darg again. There was the burning gold in his eyes indicating that magic was being used, yet Arthur found himself hypnotised by it. Why was it that he wasn’t feeling worried by this magic, but was almost pleased to see it?

“What have they done to you?” Darg moved forward and Arthur immediately tensed, preparing to lash out with his feet again. The interruption had given him a fighting spirit, and he wasn’t going to make it easy for the sorcerer to end his life. But as he drew his foot back, the rope suspending him in the air suddenly snapped, causing Arthur to go crashing down onto the floor. He wasn’t quick enough to stop the groan from escaping him as he tried to push himself up onto all fours, adamant that he wasn’t going to die kneeling at Darg’s feet.

“Shh, shh, Arthur, don’t try and move, save your strength. It’s going to be okay.” As Darg bent down – whether to help him or knock him back, Arthur wasn’t sure – the commander flinched away. He couldn’t help feeling confused, none of this made sense. Darg was normally the first to start gloating, especially as Arthur already knew that he had been sent to the men and therefore had been given another chance to get at Gwaine. Yet he almost seemed caring here.

“Get…get away from me.”

“Arthur, it’s okay…” Arthur tensed, preparing to lash out. But even as he lifted one hand off the floor in order to attack, his other arm gave way and he went crashing back down again with a groan. That didn’t stop him though, immediately trying to rise back up again. The fact that his arms were shaking violently meant that he didn’t get anywhere, but that wasn’t through lack of trying. There was no way that he was staying down here, no matter how much Darg was confusing him.

“Stop being a prat, Arthur, I told you not to move.” The commander could only blink, just about clinging onto consciousness as he peered blearily up at Darg, not understanding what was going on. That had been Darg’s voice, but someone else’s words. Words that Arthur not only knew, but had come to love as well. The man seemed to read the confusion in his eyes and he smiled gently. That alone had to be one of the strangest things that Arthur thought he had ever seen, he was used to Darg being cruel and malicious, not thinking that he even knew how to pull a caring face.

“It’s alright, everything is going to be okay…” Arthur could only lie there, not being able to muster up the strength to even lift his head properly as Darg’s hand went to his chest. Even as Arthur frowned in confusion, he watched as the man seemed to grasp something and lifted whatever it was over his head. For a split second, there almost seemed to be a shimmer in the air and Arthur caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar crystal being placed on the floor before he turned his attention back to Darg.

“Merlin!” If his gasp was coupled with tears lingering in his eyes, neither man said anything as Merlin reached forward. There was an anguished look on his face as he took in the full extent of how battered Arthur seemed to be. His hand had drifted forward, but he didn’t seem to dare want to touch. Eventually, he just rested it softly on Arthur’s hair, stroking it lightly.

“You have to get out of here.” Being exhausted and in pain, Arthur was quite proud of the fact that he didn’t just fall apart under Merlin’s touch there and then. It was so hard though, all of his senses were screaming at him to give in and let the blackness take him. “It’s you they want, you have to go.”

“I am going. And you are coming with me. The others are already out, they are securing us a path out of here. You didn’t think that I would leave you here, did you?”

“You should have done,” Arthur muttered, his eyes beginning to drift shut as the sense of being safe began to infiltrate his mind. He knew that they still had to get out, he still needed to fight his way free and make sure that something like this didn’t ever happen again. He needed to bring down the Resistance… but right now, he was just content lying there with Merlin’s hand on him, trying to process the fact that he might not be dying here after all.


	33. Chapter 33

Merlin let Arthur just lie there for a moment, his mind struggling to comprehend how bad the commander looked. He knew from what the others had said and from what he had worked out for himself that the man wasn’t going to have been treated well, but for him to look like he had been beaten multiple times was not what Merlin was expecting. He could feel his magic tensing, bubbling angrily under the surface and threatening to lash out. In a way, he knew that he potentially could, Morgana knew that he was here, after all. But he wasn’t sure how temperamental the magic would be, and with not knowing where in the building the rest of the team had got to, Merlin couldn’t be sure that they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.

“Come on, sleepy, we need to go.” He eventually mumbled, making out the sounds of Gwaine and Leon both firing. The fact that he could hear just as many returning spells was something more of a worry. He knew that the soldiers were good, but there was no telling how many sorcerers were in this place. That wasn’t including the two witches either, and Merlin had no desire to cross either of them. He had come in here to get the team out, and that was what he was going to do. Anything else would just have to wait for now, or he knew the chances of them all getting out alive would be slimming by the second.

“Merlin, come on!” Regardless of how confident Gwaine had sounded when he had sent the warlock in, Merlin knew them well enough by now to know that he was now feeling out of his depth. He couldn’t exactly blame the man, who knew what they were facing whilst he was just sitting here, waiting for Arthur to regain his senses somewhat and take note of his surroundings. Despite the commander’s initial words about the fact that Merlin shouldn’t have come, his warlock wasn’t completely sure how aware of what was going on the commander was. No matter what, he wouldn’t be relying on Arthur to come up with the escape plan.

Glancing back at the commander, however, Merlin started. It seemed that he hadn’t given Arthur enough credit. The man was no longer simply lying there, but trying to push himself upright. The warlock knew in one glance that he too had heard Gwaine’s voice, and had heard how uncertain his soldier was sounding. Considering this was Gwaine they were talking about, that was an unusual thing indeed.

“Who..?” Arthur didn’t seem to be able to finish the sentence, and his lover winced at how the man almost seemed to be fading before his eyes. For a split second, Merlin wondered whether he had missed something, whether there was magic still at work. But then he looked at Arthur properly and realised that the commander was just feeling everything that had happened so far. Whether Arthur would ever say it or not, Merlin wasn’t sure, but he could see that his arrival had brought a sense of relief to Arthur. The adrenaline was beginning to ebb away and that in turn was taking the commander’s strength. Merlin had never wanted to lie to the man he had fallen for, but he knew that he had to get Arthur fighting again.

“Leon and Gwaine. The others, I think they made it out. They were certainly going to try, they are going to get us out of here. But Leon and Gwaine are covering us, Arthur, and I’m not sure how much longer they can do is. Morgana is there, I don’t know what she is doing to them, we have to go.”

“Why did you leave them out there alone?” Arthur muttered, making it onto all fours before beginning to try and push himself into a standing position. Merlin grinned, wrapping an arm around the blond’s waist and helping him up.

“They told me to. I had to find you.”

“I was perfectly fine, I had it all under control. I swear, if you just left them there…”

Merlin stopped listening as Arthur continued to mutter about the things he would do to his warlock when they got out of here as the commander began to take more and more of his own weight. He couldn’t even argue back, as he too had a desire to get out of this forsaken place. And, well, whatever punishment Arthur had in store, Merlin was sure he could handle it. After all, apparently Arthur wasn’t just his lover, he was his destiny. The warlock was pretty certain he could take anything that Arthur threw at him.

“I’m afraid that you aren’t going anywhere.” With one of Arthur’s arms around his shoulders and one of Merlin’s arms wrapped around Arthur’s waist, Merlin could only crane his head around at the sound of the voice. Morgana was standing in the doorway, her hair wild and a smudge of something that looked suspiciously like blood staining one cheek. Merlin grinned; knowing that it at least meant Gwaine and Leon had put up a hell of a fight. Arthur tried to push the support away.

“Arthur, no…” Making sure that the witch couldn’t hear him, Merlin tried to cling on just as stubbornly as Arthur tried to push him away. Eventually, he sighed, slowly withdrawing his support. He could see why Arthur needed to do this, why he needed to face his sister head on rather than having to be relying on the support of others. The very first day that Merlin had ever met Arthur Pendragon, all that time ago, he had known instantly that this was a man who would never allow anyone else to do a job he felt like he should do himself.

“Still alive then?” Morgana muttered vindictively, her eyes flashing. Merlin wasn’t sure whether he was imagining it, but he was sure that she glanced over at Mordred as she spoke, something close to worry or even concern flickering in her otherwise hate filled eyes. Glancing at Arthur, he saw that the commander had seen the same thing and grinned. Maybe this would be something they would be able to use against her if they needed an advantage.

Unfortunately, at that moment in time, it was Morgana who held the advantage. Arthur hadn’t even answered her when she stepped to the side, allowing another woman to come into view. Merlin had never seen her before, but he still instinctively knew. It wasn’t even the sense of another’s magic, no matter how dark and twisted that seemed to be. It was far darker than Morgana’s, he could feel his own practically recoil from it. But the long blond hair and the almost medieval style dress, not to mention the way she almost seemed to instinctively check that Morgana was alright gave it away.

He had just met Morgause.

Arthur tensed next to him, and Merlin knew that whatever Morgana had put him through, Morgause was capable of far worse. Yet the witch didn’t say anything, only stepped smoothly to one side. Merlin found that his eyes were following her movements carefully, allowing the magic to fill him up in order to lash out to protect Arthur if the case should arise, but the commander’s sharp gasp brought his gaze away from the witch and back to the door.

As if they were nothing more than puppets on a string, Gwaine and Leon came floating through the door, suspended in mid-air with their heads resting on their chests. Both were still, and Merlin knew what was going through Arthur’s head. He had no idea whether his men were alive or not. Closing his eyes, Merlin trusted that his commander would keep him safe whilst he focused and let a slither of magic escape him. Like a golden thread, it spiralled gracefully from his fingers and coiled around the two men. Merlin nodded in relief. Their auras’ were still strong.

“Just unconscious.” He muttered to Arthur, knowing that he could be heard but finding that he didn’t particularly care. Up until now, he had been trying to find a way to get Arthur to fight back. Now, however, he was worried about what the commander would do if he did start fighting. Merlin could only protect him up to a certain extent, and he knew how headstrong the man could be when it came to protecting his men.

“What have you done to him?!” Morgana’s angry shout cut through any response Arthur might have made and Merlin turned to see her crouched over Mordred. One hand was resting on his chest, but her blazing eyes were directed at Merlin. The warlock could almost feel the air tingling with magic and automatically constructed some shields around both him and Arthur. He wasn’t sure that they would be able to take whatever Morgana threw at him, but at least it would lessen the damage considerably. His eyes blazed with power as he stood up straighter. Just the way that he had known Arthur had needed to support himself before, the commander knew to take a slight step away from Merlin. He was powerful, more powerful than any other sorcerer and it was about time that they realised this.

“I stopped him from hurting my destiny any further, just the way that I will stop you. Back down now, let Arthur and his team go, and this will end. Now. No one else needs to get hurt, but if you push me…”

“Fine.” It wasn’t Morgana that answered, but Morgause and Merlin blinked in surprise.

“What?”

“You’re right, there has been enough blood shed, most of it Arthur’s. He and his men are free to go. Off you trot, Arthur, dear. Take your men with you.”

“No.”

“Arthur, what are you doing, go!” Merlin turned to face the man, disbelief etched into his face. Arthur was watching Morgause shrewdly, and judging by the smug expression on her face, she knew that he had caught onto what she was doing. Merlin pressed a hand against the commander’s shoulder, giving him a small push as if he would force Arthur out of the room if he had to.

“Gwaine and Leon need you, you have to get them to the others.”

“I can’t move them on my own, Merlin.” Arthur said calmly, still not looking at the warlock, but the witch. Morgause’s smile widened and smugness seemed to almost radiate off her.

“I’ll be helping you, you idiot…”

“No, you won’t.” Morgause finally addressed Merlin directly and the warlock stared at her, not noticing that Arthur was attempting to stand in front of him protectively.

“I won’t?” Merlin couldn’t stop the confusion from lacing his voice as he stared at the witch. Morgause just continued to smirk and Arthur shook his head almost sadly. Merlin had a feeling that they knew something he didn’t, that he was somehow missing the whole point. Morgana slowly stood up, her own lip curling slightly as she moved across to stand next to Morgause.

“You said to let Arthur and his men go. That’s fine by me, I never wanted them anyway, they were simply the bait. And in your sweet little plea for their lives, you said nothing about letting you go. So tell me, Merlin, are you a man of your word? I will let them go just as you ask…but you will stay here.”

“Never.” Merlin didn’t even have time to think about what she had asked before Arthur stepped directly in front of Merlin, his posture tense and defensive despite the fact it looked like he was weaving on the spot. Merlin froze for a moment, feeling the magic sparking in the air.

“Arthur, move, it’s my decision to make, not yours.” As Morgause laughed openly, Arthur turned to face the warlock, astonishment written on his face.

“You can’t! Merlin, they’ll kill you, you can’t honestly be thinking about staying?”

“If it means you getting out. Your men need you, commander.”

“But…” Knowing that if this was going work, he had to stop Arthur being so stubborn, Merlin pulled the commander into a hug. Angling their bodies so neither Morgause nor Morgana could see him, Merlin sighed.

“They are about to use magic, Arthur. I’m not sure I can protect you from it. If I just have myself to focus on, I can fight back. I can’t protect the three of you, you have to get them out. I have no intention of staying, my love, but I need you to think of your men.” Whispering quietly yet fast in Arthur’s ear, Merlin pulled back until he could look him in the eye. Arthur didn’t look happy, but he seemed to be accepting what Merlin had just said.

“Don’t take too long.” He muttered, almost teasingly before side-stepping the warlock and heading towards Gwaine and Leon. Morgana smiled, clearly thinking that their plan was working, but Morgause was watching the pair closely.

“Let them down then.” Merlin ordered, his eyes locked on Gwaine and Leon’s motionless forms. Arthur had a point, it didn’t really matter whether the witches were letting him go or not, there was no way that he would be able to move them both like this.

“But we could just watch him struggle like that.” Morgause began mockingly, but Merlin’s whole countenance darkened. He was not in the mood to be played with, too much had happened for him to allow anyone else to get hurt. Never mind getting Leon and Gwaine out, Arthur was going to be lucky to get himself out at this rate, he seemed to be weaving on the spot somewhat dramatically now that he was supporting his own weight.

“I said let them go.” Merlin snarled, his eyes flashing as he did so. For a long moment, he could feel the resistance as Morgause tried to repel his magic and keep things going her way. But Kilgharrah had been right in all that he said about Merlin, and how strong he was. He was no ordinary sorcerer, he wasn’t even ordinary for a warlock. Although the pair he might have been facing were witches, on a one-to-one basis, he was still stronger. A vein throbbed in Morgause’s temple as she struggled to hold him back and Merlin’s eyes gave another pulse.

It was only because Arthur stepped neatly to the side that meant his men didn’t simply fall on top of him as the spell suspending them in mid-air snapped. Merlin caught Arthur’s eye and grinned, clearly trying to make a show of it for Morgause. He was acting like that was nothing, that they wouldn’t stand a chance against him. But the commander knew him better than that, he could see the unspoken message being conveyed by that one, simple look. If Morgause and Morgana combined their powers – as no doubt they would do when they realised that they were losing, Merlin wouldn’t stand a chance. That small battle on its own had been harder than he had been anticipating. In a way, Arthur couldn’t blame him, Merlin had never gone against someone with enough power to even think of rivalling his own.

“Get them out, Arthur.” Merlin said softly, causing the commander to nod. That was Merlin’s way of telling him to hurry up, to get back to the others and then do something in order to help get Merlin out. Even as Arthur glanced at his fallen men, Merlin let another spark of magic leap from him, causing Leon to stir.

He wasn’t sure whether to arouse Gwaine or not, but the decision was made from him. Arthur simply hauled his soldier up as Leon climbed to his feet. Just as the commander was about to try and lift Gwaine in order to get him out. Leon silently held out his hand to stop him. Merlin knew in that one glance that Leon wasn’t about to let Arthur do anything that could potentially injure him further and that was enough for him. Turning his back on the men he had come to consider to be like family, the warlock instead faced the witches.

By refusing to watch, it meant that Arthur couldn’t try anything else in order to either delay his leaving or get Merlin to do something that would ultimately put the commander in more danger. Merlin’s hands were clenched into fists by his sides as he willed himself not to look, to keep the eye contact with Morgause. It was his way of trying to act like he didn’t care, but he knew by the look he was getting in response that it wasn’t working. She could see straight through him, she knew how much he cared. The sounds of Arthur leaving seemed to stretch on for an age, but eventually, all fell silent.

“You should join us, Merlin. You can help, you can stop all of this and bring magic back. You can be free.”

“Don’t you think that I already am?” Merlin was watching Morgana closely as she spoke. She didn’t have the same hatred in her eyes that Morgause did, only a burning desire to be free. Merlin knew in that one look she truly believed what they were fighting for, but unless she was prepared to change her methods in order to get it, she was as much of an enemy as Morgause.

“I’ve been living with them for six months. I’ve been sharing your brother’s bed and heart. I’ve never been freer in my life.”

“Then think of others. They won’t have to grow up being scared.”

“They would if they were a warlock,” Merlin argued. He could see the passion in the way she was speaking, knew that she truly thought he would help her bring to life what she wanted to achieve. But he also knew that this was the wrong way of doing it. “There would be no difference; other sorcerers would still hunt them down to crave their power. It wouldn’t change anything bringing magic back to light through violence; the violence would just carry on.”

“So how would you do it?” This time, however, Merlin frowned. Morgana seemed to be leaving Merlin’s side, slowly sidestepping around to one side. Merlin’s gaze had been following her, and it was only now that he noticed that his whole body had slowly swivelled in order to keep her in his sight. It also meant, however, that both Morgause and the still unconscious Mordred could no longer be seen by the warlock. He had just opened his mouth in order to find out what they were playing out when he felt his magic tingle in warning.

Not even thinking of questioning it, Merlin let himself drop to the floor, rolling to one side in the way that Arthur had taught him all those months ago. The beam of magic that Morgause had been hoping to send straight into his back sparked harmlessly against the opposite wall, the air almost fizzing with the power of the spell. As his own coiled in anger, Merlin shakily pushed himself upright.

“How is knocking me out going to help you?” He exclaimed, anger making his voice rise even as he attempted to back himself up against the wall. What he had forgotten about, however, was the two witches were not the only ones present. Mordred had regained consciousness the second that Morgana had touched him, the witch using her own magic to help bring him back to alertness. As Merlin backed up, Mordred silently climbed to his feet.

“You would see things our way!” Morgana looked somewhat wild as she practically shouted at him, and Morgause had to rest a hand on her arm.

“Calm yourself, sister.”

“If Arthur has escaped, if he goes for help, we’re finished…”

“Don’t worry, Arthur won’t be going anywhere.”

“But you let him go!” Merlin found that he was carefully gathering his magic around him as the two argued, making sure that if Morgause was to try anything like that again, he would at least have a chance of deflecting it. To his surprise, Morgause took one look at his face and burst out laughing.

“Oh Merlin, you naïve thing. If your relationship with him is what it seems to be, Arthur would have never left the building. He has spent the last few days going through all of that so your location wouldn’t be revealed, do you really think that he would let that be in vain and leave you to our mercy now?”

“But…” Merlin found himself lost for words, realising that she had a point. Of course there was no way that Arthur was going to leave him here, just as there was no way that Merlin would have left the commander here in the first place. It was what had got them into this mess.

Before he could do anything, however, Merlin finally found out what it was they were up to. There was a sharp snick and Merlin blinked slightly as he immediately felt his magic bucking against the slight restrain that had been placed on it. Glancing down, Merlin found that he almost rolled his eyes at seeing Mordred had just placed an anti-magic cuff on him.

“Do you really think that this will stop me?” He muttered, letting his magic seek out the weakness in the cuff, preparing to break it.

“No. But it is to show you that we have possession of anti-magic, despite our own gifts. We will take you by force if you do not agree to help us.” Merlin took a step backwards, shaking his head.

“This is why you will never win. It’s not your destiny to bring magic back, so give up.”

Morgause didn’t even answer, she just nodded. Merlin turned, bringing up his arm in order to block Mordred as the young man swung down towards him. Mordred blinked, clearly not expecting that Merlin was going to fight back physically, but then grinned. Before the warlock could even think of what he was going to do next, Mordred’s knee had sunk into Merlin’s stomach. Quick as lightening, the sorcerer grabbed Merlin’s wrist as Merlin sunk to his knees, winded.

“Stop…” Merlin struggled as much as he could against Mordred’s hold, but the man was clearly trained. Not to mention he found that his attention was partly drawn by Morgana. She was walking towards him slowly, her hand reaching into a back pocket as she did so. It was obvious she didn’t want to draw attention to herself, yet that was enough for Merlin to do the opposite. He might be talking to Morgause, but his eyes never left Morgana. Not until she disappeared around his back and he could no longer see her, Mordred’s grip meaning that he could barely even turn his head, let alone anything else.

“Will you help us?”

“Never.” Merlin didn’t have time to start struggling physically again before Mordred bent his arm up his back, bending him practically in half. Merlin didn’t fight back this time, he just took a few seconds to gather his magic. He wasn’t going to give them a chance, but take out all three in one go so that he could get out of here and back to Arthur before the prat did something noble that got him killed.

Yet it was Merlin who was never given the chance. Even as he prepared to unleash the magic, he felt the sharp sting of something in his neck. Mordred immediately let go as Morgana stepped back with a smirk. Merlin could hear someone crying out, but he didn’t realise it was him until he found himself curled up on the floor, not remembering that he had even fallen. His body was trembling slightly and as he glared up at them once again, he realised that he couldn’t feel his magic.

“We told you we had anti-magic, Merlin.  You will regret turning down our offer. We will give you some time, maybe even some incentives in order to try and help you to change your mind, but you have lost your one chance at doing this the pain free way.”

“No.”

“No? You still continue to defy us even though we have just rendered your helpless? Very well, this should prove entertaining. Take him to the cells.” Merlin was just about with it enough to see Mordred shoot Morgause an annoyed look at being so casually ordered about, but that didn’t stop him from doing as he was told. Merlin couldn’t even move as he was swung up over the young man’s shoulder, and he knew whatever they had injected him with was more than anti-magic, it had numbed him physically as well as magically. He tried to struggle, tried to make some kind of attempt to show that he wasn’t going to let this happen, but no matter what his mind was screaming, his body was not responding.

Mordred headed swiftly out of the room, clearly believing that hesitating was not going to be a good idea when they had no idea what Arthur was up to. But it didn’t matter how fast the sorcerer tried to walk, he was already too late.

No sooner had he left the room there came numerous clicks. Morgana hurried out to his side, only to gasp as she too found herself face to face with the entire Round Table, as well as Gwen. All were armed, all had faces like thunder, and no matter how injured some of them were, she knew that they were all aiming with deadly precision.

“I suggest you put him down.” Arthur’s voice came floating from the centre of his men, and as Morgana turned her gaze to her brother, she couldn’t help but swallow hard. This was the Arthur she had known, grown up with and – dare she admit it – once loved. This was the brother that she had been missing all of this time, the one that would do absolutely anything, no matter the cost, in order to protect the ones that he loved.

Unfortunately this time, however, Morgana seemed to be on the wrong end of that gaze and she found herself taking a step backwards.

“Sister?”

“I don’t think even that witch can help you now.” Arthur said softly, his voice almost full of regret as he redirected his gun to aim it straight at Morgana. Morgause hurried out of the room, her eyes flashing with anger when she saw what was awaiting them. But she didn’t dare let lose any magic, not until she knew that she would be quicker than the multiple fingers resting on triggers.

“I won’t repeat myself. Let. Him. Go.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long, deadlines were approaching then my memory stick stopped working so I had to re-write the chapter! Hope you like it even after the long wait.

Arthur had known as soon as Leon had caught his eye that his second in command knew what he was planning. It was true; he did want to get Gwaine to safety, to make sure that the rest of the men had a fighting chance of getting out alive. But there was no way that he was going to leave Merlin here, and he was just thankful that Leon didn’t even try and argue against him.

The corridor was almost deserted as they left the room, but Arthur couldn’t help but wince at the number of bodies that seemed to be sprawled across the floor. He had heard the gunshots as Merlin had tempted him back to alertness; he knew that a fight had been taking place. He just hadn’t quite comprehended how outnumbered his men had been.

“Not all of them were sorcerers. At least, they didn’t use magic against us.” Leon muttered, seeing where Arthur was looking.

“They still were prepared to help Morgause, they still were prepared to try and kill you.” Arthur knew what Leon wanted from him. The soldier wanted to be told that it wasn’t his fault that the men had died. Their fight had always been against magic. For Morgause to employ people who had no part in the battle, knowing that they wouldn’t stand a chance against a trained army unit was nothing short of cruel. Arthur’s words did enough for Leon, however, and he nodded.

“I’ll take Gwaine and get the others. Why don’t you stay here and see if you can find us any more weapons, Sir?” Arthur grinned and nodded, finally giving up trying to take Gwaine from Leon and letting the man do what he did best – organising the team. He knew that he needed back up before going back in there, but hadn’t particularly wanted to go too far from Merlin. The warlock might have some of the most powerful magic that Arthur had ever come across, but he also knew how much of an idiot his lover could be. Merlin would be more likely to get himself killed than he would be to get himself out of there.

Arthur could only stand there and watch as Leon took Gwaine out of his sight. Whilst he was glad that he could stay here, Arthur couldn’t help but swallow slightly nervously, glancing up and down the corridor as he did so. It had seemed like a good idea until he realised that it meant that he was left on his own. If there was to be another attack, if Morgause tried anything, Arthur knew that he would be as good as dead. He was too weak in order to be able to offer a fair fight, words were the only thing he had left. Yet considering how much he had been defying them, he knew that the time for talking had passed. If he faced the witches again, it would be a fight to the death. Arthur just hoped that it would be their demise, not his.

Hearing Merlin yell out, the commander literally had to force himself to turn his back on the room. Merlin had come here for him, to make sure that he survived and lived. The very least that Arthur could do was repay the favour. Ignoring the fact that his heart was telling him to burst into the room and make sure the man was okay, Arthur instead began collecting the weapons from the men scattered around the place. By combining their ammunition, he knew that he had enough for each of his men to be able to let lose a fair number of rounds before they had to think of a new tactic. Right now, that was the best that Arthur could do.

His head was killing him and his whole body was protesting about the way it had been treated lately. With the guns loaded and as ready as Arthur could make them, the commander leant the weapons up against the wall. Making sure that he kept one loosely gripped in his hand – he might not be able to offer much of a fight, but he could make sure that he went down fighting – Arthur leant against the wall himself and closed his eyes.

He almost zoned out standing up. It wasn’t quite falling asleep, but he couldn’t honestly say that he was awake either. He needed recovery time; he needed some way of regaining his strength before going after Merlin. But he knew that he didn’t have that. In an almost trance-like state, Arthur didn’t notice how much time had passed or how heated the conversation within the room was getting until he heard footsteps heading down his part of the corridor.

Almost without thinking about it, the gun was properly in his hand, his body stiffening and his eyes alert as he came back to the moment. Arthur knew how to play this game, he knew how to make it look like that he wasn’t paying any attention whatsoever whilst at the same time taking in every inch of his surroundings. Yet when the first person rounded the corner, the commander forgot about all pretences as he straightened up, breathing a sigh of relief that he only hoped that no one else heard.

“What took you so long?” It couldn’t be denied that Arthur sounded genuinely pleased to see his men, despite his words.

“Thought we would see how alert you were, can’t make it too easy now, can we?”

“Yeah, where would be the fun in that?” Arthur couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over his face as Elyan came around the corner, swiftly followed by Percival and Gwen. But it wasn’t them that caused the relief to flicker in his eyes, it was the person who had last spoken. It seemed to take an age for Leon to make it back into view, but sure enough, he was supporting a now conscious Gwaine. It looked like it was only just, admittedly, but knowing there was no lasting damage from what Morgause had done to them caused Arthur’s smile to widen.

“You look like hell.”

“Not looking so hot yourself, princess. Where’s Merlin?” Arthur’s smile vanished as quickly as it had come as he nodded towards the door. The whole unit fell silent, snippets of what was happening within just being audible enough for them to know that things were not going the warlock’s way.

“What’s the plan?”

“Improvise?” Arthur muttered, realising that he didn’t actually have a plan. If Merlin could help them, then the witches wouldn’t be able to stand a chance. But if the warlock was out of action, then Arthur knew it was going to have to be up to the team in order to get everyone out of here. “Do we have a clear way out?”

“Yes. We’ve cleared a route and Gwen is keeping it clear for us.” There was a fierce note of pride in Lancelot’s voice that meant Arthur didn’t even question what the man was saying. If he believed that his fiancée could keep the way clear, then who was Arthur to question that? Not to mention he knew that Gwen was more than capable of taking down a few sorcerers if she needed to.

“Good, then…” Arthur was just about to start voicing some sort of plan, to try and form a strategy about how they were all going to get out of here when he broke off, glancing over his shoulder towards the room as he did so. Gwaine looked like he was going to question what had Arthur pausing when the sound became more audible. Merlin was crying out in pain, and all of them could hear how helpless he was sounding. Whatever was going on in there, it seemed the witches had him beaten.

“Merlin…” Muttering under his breath, Arthur automatically took a step forward, his hand tightening on his gun. Percival grabbed him from behind, holding him with ease as Leon stepped forward.

“Everyone, arm yourselves as best as you can and get in position. They are not getting past us, not this time.” The low murmur of approval wouldn’t have warned Morgause what was being planned, but Arthur found that it caused a spark of determination to flare to life within the commander.

He wasn’t doing this alone any longer.

The unit moved without even thinking about what they were doing. Each member grabbed one of the guns that Arthur had checked, automatically glancing at the ammunition as they moved into position. Elyan and Lancelot moved to the front, both going down on one knee and readying their guns as they flanked the rest of the team. Arthur found himself in the middle, Leon to his right and Gwaine to his left. Percival was next to Gwaine, his solid bulk providing a reassuring barrier that anyone wanting to get past them would have to cross.

They were just in time. As Gwaine forced himself to stay upright, a figure could be seen leaving the room. But it wasn’t the fact that it was his would-be killer emerging that made Arthur growl. It was the fact that Merlin was slung, not moving, over the young man’s shoulder. It took Leon’s warning look in order to stop the commander doing something stupid.

“I suggest you put him down.”

Leon might have stopped Arthur from moving forward physically, but the commander had no intention of staying quiet. The team were back together, almost out of there for good, thanks to Merlin. Who was now hurt, badly enough that he wasn’t moving. There was no way that Arthur was simply going to keep quiet and remember his training now. Not to mention the fleeting look of panic that went flickering over Mordred’s face as he realised what he was face to face with gave Arthur a small sense of satisfaction. It was only then that he realised that Morgana had come out as well, and it was the look on her face that gave Arthur the belief that they had truly won this.

“Sister?” Arthur gave a subtle nod to his men as Morgana called for Morgause, telling them to be ready. As one, everyone seemed to tighten their fingers on their triggers, and Arthur knew that he was not the only one who would be prepared to do absolutely everything in order to get Merlin back where he belonged. Morgana’s face, however, told Arthur more. Not only did he think they had won, she seemed to have realised that they had lost. She knew him well enough to know when he was bluffing and when he was being serious. And right now, no one could deny that Arthur was nothing if not determined to get his lover back.

“I won’t repeat myself. Let. Him. Go.”

Morgause appeared at that moment, and although her mouth twisted into its normal smirk, Arthur could see the way that she was looking around for the rest of her men. She clearly hadn’t realised that Gwaine and Leon had managed to take them all down, and the commander could see the way her eyes widened when she realised that there was no one else… and the team were blocking the only way out. Morgause glanced at Mordred and nodded sharply.

Arthur watched with baited breath as the sorcerer slowly lowered Merlin to the floor. Somehow, the commander knew what he was about to do even before he did it. As soon as his hands were free, Mordred shot his palms out towards the team.

“Brace!” Arthur yelled, knowing that it was about time that they had more defence against magic than everyone believed. He was just in time, forcing the muscles in his legs to tense as a blast of air shot around them. The force was great enough to have whipped them off their feet – if Merlin hadn’t been training them to withstand such attacks. Even so, in his weakened state, Arthur stumbled slightly, but Leon’s hand was instantly on his back, keeping him steady. Morgause looked nothing short of shocked, Mordred angry, yet Morgana had a small smile playing across her face, almost as if she knew that had been about to happen.

“Attack!”

 As one, the unit lifted their guns and fired. With Merlin on the floor, there was less chance of him being hit, but still Arthur found himself focusing his fire on Mordred. Not only has the boy wanted him dead and had been the one that would have killed him if Merlin hadn’t arrived in time, but because he was closest to the warlock. As Arthur slowly but steadily advanced, Mordred was forced backwards. Spells were flying from his mouth, yet none were hitting Arthur. To start with, the commander couldn’t figure it out, he knew how accurate Mordred could be. But then he glanced at Merlin. The warlock wasn’t unconscious as Arthur had originally thought, he just didn’t seem to be able to move. His eyes were open and burning gold. Although sweat was beading on his brow that implied using the magic was hurting him in a way it shouldn’t, it seemed whatever they had done to him wasn’t enough to stop the most powerful warlock. He had still managed to form some sort of shield in order to stop Mordred’s magic.

Hearing Percival yell out, Arthur glanced over his shoulder. He had been wrong thinking Merlin was protecting them all, his magic wasn’t stretching that far. Instead, he just seemed to be protecting Arthur, and the commander could only watch as Morgause smirked vindictively as Percival dropped to one knee, face contorted with pain and clutching at his other leg.

“Knight 1, four o’clock!” Arthur yelled, trying to throw the witches off their plan by using the code names. Gwaine caught on to what he was doing and raised his gun, aiming at directly at Morgause. As she turned her attention to him, Leon acted. He fired once, twice, three times… straight down a corridor that he had been approaching on his left. There came the sounds of thuds and a muffled groan as Leon nodded his thanks to Arthur. The commander had been able to see them from his angle when he knew that his men had not, and judging by the snarl that Morgause let lose, her surprise attack had just been stopped in its tracks.

“You’ll never stop me, Pendragon.” Morgause spat, her face contorted with anger as she realised that she was beginning to lose. Arthur glanced at her coolly, unable to stop his eyes from flickering to Merlin as he did so. He might be protected, but none of his men were, neither was the warlock himself. Someone had to make sure that he stayed safe.

“Can’t you see that you are outnumbered?”

“Can’t you tell that you’ll never win when you are going up against magic?” Arthur didn’t even have time to react this time when Morgause let lose a stream of magic, aiming straight at the soldiers. Arthur turned to yells of pain as nearly all of them hit the floor, Gwaine somehow leaning against a wall in order to keep him standing. Arthur didn’t need to look twice to know that he was struggling to stay upright though, and his grip on his gun was less than helpful.

“Protect them.” Arthur muttered, knowing that Merlin would be able to hear him. Glancing down at him, he saw the indecision flicker over the man’s face before he blinked, clearly agreeing. Protecting the men would leave Arthur open to anything they wanted to throw at him, but unless Merlin did something, the rest of the team were sitting ducks. If there was one thing that Arthur had learnt during his time of being a commander was that he had to make sure that his men came first, no matter what.

A shiver running down his spine told Arthur that Merlin had done as he was told and that he was no longer protected. By the way that Mordred seemed to smirk, taking a step closer, Arthur knew that they too were aware of the lack of protection surrounding the commander. It was only then that the commander truly noticed that Morgana wasn’t particularly doing anything. She just seemed to be hovering behind her sister, certainly not attacking. Arthur found that he was locking eyes with her for a split second, and clear as day, he could see all the indecision in her expression.

Maybe he would have been able to get through to her? Make her see that this was the wrong way of going about things, that Arthur wasn’t her enemy. But Arthur never got the chance to even try before Morgause let lose her own magic, blasting Arthur through the air and dashing him against the wall. For a moment, Arthur could only lie there, his ears ringing as he tried to figure out which way was up and which was down.  
  
“No…” The faint whisper was enough to bring him back to his senses as he heard how terrified Merlin was. Somehow, he managed to lock eyes with his lover first, seeing the concern spiralling deep within Merlin’s gaze. It was clear that he was trying to pull himself across the floor towards Arthur’s side somehow, but couldn’t overcome the magic in order to do so. Realising that they had done something severe to the man he loved, Arthur growled in anger and made to sit up.

Only for a foot to rest casually on his side, keeping him down. Arthur hadn’t realised that Mordred was standing there until now, the twisted expression one Arthur had no desire to see on anyone, let alone someone so young. Even as he simply gazed up at Mordred, the young man began to stretch out his hand. It seemed that he wanted it to be magic to finish Arthur off completely.

“Go on then.” Arthur muttered, not fighting against the hold but just staying low. What Mordred didn’t realise was that Arthur was far from defenceless. The second he regained clarity, he realised that something was pressing into his back. Now, however, he knew precisely what it was and knew that he had practically fallen on Leon’s gun from where the man had dropped it at Morgause’s spell. His hand slipping carefully behind him, Arthur sought out the grip as he waited for Mordred to make his move.

He was too late, however. As soon as he got some sort of grip on the weapon, pain beyond anything that he had ever felt before shot through his body. Arthur was unable to stop the cry from escaping him this time, not having the same composure as he had when he had been in the room with the pair of them. He wasn’t ready for this, and as every nerve in his body seemed to erupt in a fiery agony, Arthur knew that he wasn’t ready to die. Not now that Merlin had come back to him, not now they had been about to get out of there and move on from all of this.

It couldn’t be his time, not yet.

“Let him go.” Now Arthur was just sure that he had to be hallucinating. Merlin was no longer lying helpless on the floor, but was standing. Not only was he standing, his hand was outstretched and his eyes were burning golden. Somehow, the very real threat to Arthur’s life and the pain the commander was in had been enough for Merlin’s magic to take on a life of its own and simple react. Whilst thinking about it, he hadn’t been able to overcome Morgause’s magic. But now that he was acting instinctively, nothing was going to stop him.

The pain lessened from Arthur’s body slightly and he felt himself sag against the floor, panting heavily as he did so. Blinking furiously in order to keep back the darkness that wanted to claw away at his vision, Arthur once again found that his hand was trying to get a grip on the gun behind him. He couldn’t just lie here and let himself be killed, for then would stop Merlin from losing himself?

“No, I don’t think I will. Arthur’s been holding back on me for far too long now, I think it is about time I delivered what I promised him, don’t you? Say goodbye, Arthur Pendragon.”

Mordred’s hand rose again and Arthur found himself trying to brace himself against the pain that he knew was about to come. Yet it never arrived. Instead, Merlin’s eyes flashed once and the young sorcerer was torn away from Arthur. He flew through the air, and hit the wall with a sickening crunch. Any remnants of his spell disappeared and Arthur found that he could breathe properly again. Sitting up, he winced slightly as he looked at Mordred. He wouldn’t be getting up again this time. His neck was broken.

Mordred was dead.

“NO!” Arthur had never realised that Morgause cared in any way for Mordred. Maybe she didn’t, maybe it was just having someone that strong with a hatred as deep as Mordred’s for Arthur had been a valuable asset. But either way, she looked positively fuming at the man’s death. Arthur didn’t even have time to open his mouth to warn Merlin before she let lose a deadly spiral of magic at him. Merlin’s mouth opened in a soft “o” before he collapsed to the floor and laid still.

Arthur was moving before Merlin had even finished falling. He crawled to his love’s side, a shaky hand reaching out and resting against Merlin’s neck. The relief that Arthur felt when a steady heartbeat answered his searching fingers wasn’t something that he could even explain. Merlin was unconscious, but alive.

“And now, Arthur Pendragon, you will pay for everything that you have ever done. Your father will fall at the news of your death, and we would have won. Maybe I’ll leave your men alive so they can witness how much they have failed, but your end is now.”

Morgause’s hand rose again and her magic whipped Arthur’s feet out from under him. Lying on his back in the middle of the hallway, Arthur knew that nothing was within his reach this time, and that Merlin wouldn’t be helping him. Morgause smirked, her hand outstretching again, but before she could say anything, another voice interrupted the conversation.

“You know, sweetheart, you really need a hobby.” Whilst her hand still stayed directed at Arthur, Morgause’s head turned to face Gwaine’s voice. Arthur found that he was following her gaze, hoping that his soldier had somehow regained a better grip on his gun than he had done before. Only to find himself gaping at the sight that met him.

Gwaine hadn’t been the only one who had managed to pull himself into an upright position whilst the attention had been on Merlin and Arthur. The whole unit were poised for action. Percival, Gwaine and Leon were standing, whilst Elyan and Lancelot remained kneeling. Yet that wasn’t what truly drew Arthur’s attention. It was the fact that each and every one of them had a gun in their hands. Or more specifically, that they were all aiming at Morgause.

“You fire and I’ll kill your commander before you take my life.”

“Do it!” Arthur yelled over Morgause’s smooth talking, not being sure whether she would be able to get through to them or not. Instead, Arthur began pulling himself across the floor, practically throwing himself over Merlin as he did so to make sure that he was protected from whatever was about to happen next.

“That was an order!”

The fact that Arthur seemed to be taking command again was enough for the rest of the team. As one, their fingers tightened on their triggers and Arthur wished that he had thought to cover his ears as five guns went off. It was the silence that followed afterwards, however, that seemed to be even more deafening.

Arthur slowly uncurled himself from Merlin, glancing up. Morgause almost seemed to be falling in slow motion, disappearing back through the door that Arthur had been held prisoner behind. Her torso was stained with blood, but not being sure just how powerful she was, Arthur found that he was standing up. On shaky legs, he took a few steps towards his men, but Leon seemed to anticipate what it was that his commander was after and wordlessly handed him the gun in his hand. Arthur nodded, but moved back towards the door.

Morgause seemed to be twitching slightly where she lay, blood pooling around her. Shaking his head at just how twisted someone had come through their desire for power, Arthur fired once before tossing the gun to one side.

She twitched no more after that.

Feeling suddenly exhausted, the commander leant momentarily on the doorframe before turning back to his men.

“Let’s go home.” He muttered, moving forward and bending down. He couldn’t suppress a groan as he swung Merlin over his shoulder, but whilst Percival helped to steady the warlock, they all seemed to realise that this was something Arthur needed to do for himself.

“What about Morgana?” Elyan asked quietly, helping Lancelot up as he did so before checking on Percival’s leg to make sure that he would be able to run if necessary. After all, they didn’t know who else would be roaming the building. Arthur glanced over his shoulder at the now empty corridor, wondering when it was that his sister had run.

“Leave her. She won’t do any more harm without Morgause. And if she does, we’ll deal with it.” Arthur’s message was clear. He knew that Morgana wouldn’t come willingly, she would be feeling guilty about the role she had played and if there was one thing Arthur knew about the woman, it was that she hated to apologise. Yet Arthur couldn’t bring himself to have her killed. It was easier to just let her go. Not to mention he truly believe his own words. Morgause had been the influence that had taken Morgana from her family and those who loved her. Who knew, with any luck now that the witch was gone, she would be able to find her way back again.

“You sure?”

“Yes, Gwaine, I’m sure. Can we please go home, I’m still against the clock here.”

Arthur’s words changed the whole attitude of the group, and before the commander’s eyes, he watched his true family morph back into the army unit as they started walking down the hall. Heading towards the exit, Arthur made sure that he didn’t look back.

The Resistance was no more.

They had won.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, guys. All over. Thank you so much for the amazing support, it has meant the absolute world. I'll definitely be trying something like this again.
> 
> Happy Christmas.

“Merlin? Meeerlin? Merlin!”

The warlock let out a groan as he cracked open his eyes, murmuring something unintelligible under his breath. His body shifted and he smiled as he felt the warmth of the blanket draped over him and he managed to open his eyes enough to gaze up. Sure enough, Arthur was smiling back down at him and combed his fingers through his lover’s hair as he realised that Merlin was looking back at him.

“Go ‘way.”

“And there I was thinking the birthday boy might want breakfast in bed.”

Merlin didn’t need telling twice, shooting upright as his grin widened. Arthur was forced to lean back just in order to stop the warlock from smacking into him, but his grin didn’t disappear in the slightest. How could he, when only two weeks ago he had been sitting in this exact spot waiting for Gaius to tell him that Merlin was going to wake up again.

_It had been a close call as to whether they would be able to make it through from the attack or not. Arthur had passed out almost as soon as they got out of the building, the adrenaline ebbing away and concern for Merlin taking its place as they realised that he still couldn’t move. He had come round two days later attached to a drip with a haggard looking Leon slouched next to him. The realisation that he was on the sofa in a half-mended flat had made him shoot up too fast and almost pass out again. Leon had explained that Gaius had been forced to put him on a drip in order to make sure that he had the medication that he needed to survive and patched him up, knowing that it was just a matter of waiting for the commander to regain consciousness again._

_As soon as Arthur had demanded to know where Merlin was, Leon knew that he had no chance of keeping him down. Supporting a wobbly Arthur through to the main bedroom, Arthur had seen Gwen and Lancelot talking quietly in the kitchen, Percival and Elyan working on the weapons cabinet. It was clear that it was going to take more than a few days to put things right, but the two young men simply glanced over at Arthur and nodded before continuing their work._

_Leon knocked softly, pressing down on the handle to the bedroom before standing back. Arthur stumbled forward just as Gwaine appeared in the doorway, and for a long moment, the two friends could only look at each other. Nothing was said, and yet the expressions on their faces spoke volumes. Arthur was more than aware of what his men had been prepared to give up for him, and they knew that he would have died to protect them if he could. Arthur had always had a strange relationship with Gwaine, and the look they gave each other now signified everything._

_Arthur hadn’t waited for anything more, but pushed his way through to find Merlin lying motionless on the bed. Gaius had been bending over but glanced up in order to acknowledge Arthur’s presence. Arthur didn’t realise until much later that Leon had never followed him in, but instead had decided to let his commander have some time and space on his own with Merlin without the men clustering around. Arthur hadn’t even been able to open his mouth in order to ask how the younger man was, but Gaius seemed to know what it was the commander wanted to say._

_“He’s going to be fine. He’s come through the worst, he has movement back. His magic has been healing him, he’ll be just fine, Arthur.”_

_Even then, the commander still hadn’t been able to find the words to say what was going through his mind, but had simply nodded, sliding onto the bed and picking up Merlin’s unresponsive hand. With only Gaius there to see him, he found himself pressing the back of the hand against his cheek and closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he tried to tell himself that it was over._

In a way, it was. With Morgause and Mordred dead, the rest of the sorcerers’ had fled, knowing the Resistance couldn’t offer them the protection it had promised. Some had handed themselves in – with no one to guide them, they didn’t truly know what was happening. It was later revealed that they were passed over to the Druids in order to learn how to control themselves. Some still continued to cause trouble, but the Round Table were back on duty almost as soon as Merlin woke up and were there to pick up the pieces.

But Morgana had simply disappeared. It didn’t seem to matter what resources they tried to use in order to find her, it was like the witch had just vanished from the earth. She certainly wasn’t in Camelot, Arthur knew that she would never be able to get past them undetected that close, especially not as Merlin was searching for her magic just as intently as the rest of the team were searching for her physically. Where she was, Arthur had no idea, he just got the feeling that the shoot-out wasn’t the last time he would see his sister. In a way, he was just glad that she was alive, and maybe this time, away from Morgause and even him, away from everything that had been influencing her, maybe she would be able to find peace?

“You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?” Merlin’s voice brought Arthur back from troubled thoughts about Morgana and the fingers brushing through his fringe focused his attention back on Merlin.

“How can I be when you are giving me that look?” Merlin grinned in a self-satisfied manner as Arthur’s eyes locked on his own. For a moment, they both just froze, neither saying a word as they drank in the other’s appearance, a silent reassurance that everything was okay and they had both got through this.

“I believe I promised you breakfast in bed.” Arthur made to stand up and head back out through to the kitchen in order to deliver on his promise. He had found out the hard way that bringing the tray in with him never worked well with Merlin, the warlock was clumsier first thing in the morning than any other time of day, and that was saying something. Merlin, however, had other ideas. His hand snaked around the back of Arthur’s neck and he pulled him in for a deep kiss that left the commander’s head spinning.

How he ended up from leaning over Merlin to finding himself flat out on the bed with said warlock straddling him, fingers entwined as Merlin pushed Arthur’s hands into the pillow, Arthur had no idea.

“I thought I was supposed to be getting you breakfast.”

“Maybe I’ve already got it.” Merlin muttered, his eyes roaming Arthur’s face hungrily. Never one to deny Merlin anything, Arthur simply grinned. He would never admit to simply giving in that easily, he was a commander after all. But he figured that today of all days he had an excuse – he couldn’t exactly deny the birthday boy what he wanted.

When they finally stumbled from the bedroom over an hour later – the shower had simply led to more antics rather than getting them clean – Arthur found that he had to laugh at the music Gwaine was playing louder than ever. Lancelot and Gwen had disappeared, Percival had headphones on and Elyan and Leon were in the furthest corner, talking loudly. Merlin beamed as they left the room, but no one so much as glanced at them.

“Come on, we’re going for a run.”

“But…” Arthur found that he was hard pushed to not simply kiss the pout of Merlin’s face, but he knew that he had to keep up the pretence. The rest of the team were deliberately ignoring them, looking over the fact that it was Merlin’s birthday. Despite what had just happened – Arthur had known from the beginning that he was never going to be able to keep it up if he wasn’t allowed to give in a little to start with -  the commander too was supposed to be acting like this was any other day. It would ruin the surprise otherwise.

“But nothing, we didn’t go yesterday.”

“Arthur…”

“We need to train, Merlin.” Grabbing the warlock’s hand before Merlin could scurry back into the bedroom – it was amazing how solid that door was when it had been blocked with magic – Arthur pulled him close. “I’ll make it up to you later, promise.” He whispered suggestively in the warlock’s ear, and he knew as soon as he felt Merlin sag against him slightly that he had won. Little did Merlin know just how much Arthur was planning to make it up to him, but unless he managed to get Merlin out of the flat in the first place, it would all be for nothing.

Merlin sighed and headed towards the door, his head bent slightly as he seemed to realise that he wasn’t going to be getting the birthday that he had been hoping for. Arthur followed him, but after letting Merlin through the door first, turned back to face the rest of the flat for a split second. Gwaine gave him a thumbs up as Elyan pulled out his phone. Percival moved back into the kitchen looking like he meant business and Arthur had to smile. They knew they would be racing against the clock, especially if Merlin was going to protest rather than run, but it would be worth it in the end.

Slipping his hand into Merlin’s and interlocking their fingers, Arthur thought that he was going to give the whole surprise away there and then at the dejected look on the warlock’s face.

“Come on, I’ll buy you breakfast before we train.” Not giving Merlin a chance to protest, he tugged him out of the flat and across the busy street, into one of Merlin’s favourite cafés. It worked wonders. Merlin forgot that he was supposed to be sulking after two of their coffees and so much sugary stuff that Arthur was wincing, despite telling his boyfriend to go wild because it was his birthday. It was Merlin who almost pulled Arthur out, claiming the commander was never going to stand a chance at beating him today when it came to their running.

Arthur had a sneaky suspicion Merlin might be right, the man almost seemed to be bouncing off the walls. But he was never one to back down from a challenge and the pair of them seemed to get to their usual field in record time. Bounding over to the normal starting point, Arthur grinned as he realised that Merlin was right on his heels. He might have used training as an excuse to just get him out of the flat whilst the others set up, but even the birthday boy himself couldn’t deny that they were having fun. Whenever Arthur and Merlin trained together without the rest of the team, they always had far more of a workout. Arthur thought that Gwaine was competitive, but somehow it didn’t seem to touch upon what he had with Merlin. Maybe it was because personal things were used in order to cheat rather than just the usual military tactics.

Either way, they were both covered in mud with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes by the time Arthur called the training to a stop before one of them got hurt. Whilst he knew that it would only be a pulled muscle or something like that, he had seen enough of Merlin being in pain to last him a lifetime. Not to mention having strained muscles would somewhat ruin the surprise. Catching his breath, Arthur turned to face Merlin, grinning.

“Ready to go back?”

“I guess.” It didn’t escape Arthur’s notice how unenthusiastic Merlin sounded about that and he knew the fact the others had barely even said good morning, let alone wished him a happy birthday was playing on his mind a little. Arthur bit his lip, knowing that as soon as they were back, everything would be made clearer.

“Come on.” He didn’t know what else he was supposed to say that wouldn’t give away what was about to happen. Instead, he just slung an arm around Merlin’s shoulders and began steering him back towards the flat, talking about the first things that came into his head in order to stop Merlin asking any questions. The look he was given indicated that Merlin knew he was up to something – it wasn’t normally Arthur the one rambling on about nothing – but he seemed content enough to just let the commander talk away. Arthur felt like it took them forever to get back to the flat, his heart beginning to pound uncomfortably hard the closer they got. He couldn’t believe they had managed to carry this off without Merlin finding out, but he knew that it was mainly thanks to Gwen that it had been able to come about. Arthur might have had the idea, but she was the one with the location in order to make it happen.

Merlin fell even quieter than normal as they reached the flat, his eyes finding the floor.

“Hey,” Arthur murmured softly, running a finger down Merlin’s cheek. “Don’t be so glum, chum.”

Normally, a line as cheesy as that would be a guarantee to make Merlin grin like a lunatic, but this time, he simply shrugged.

“I’m fine.”

“Good, don’t want all my efforts to go to waste.”

“Efforts? What? Arthur, what are you talking about?” Arthur simply grinned, winked at Merlin and pushed open the flat door. Nothing but silence greeted them, and Merlin frowned quizzically as Arthur gave him a sharp nudge in the back, forcing him to walk in. It wasn’t until Arthur himself had made it through the door and shut it behind him that all the lights flared into life.

“Surprise!” Merlin’s face changed expressions so quickly that Arthur couldn’t help but laugh, spin him around and kiss him.

“Happy birthday!” The flat had been transformed, banners and balloons on every surface. Arthur had a feeling that wasn’t the exact plan, but that Gwaine had got a little carried away. As Merlin simply gaped, everyone came out of their various hiding places from around the flat, broad grins on their faces. The whole team was there, even Gaius. But as Leon came from the kitchen, he knocked lightly on the bedroom door. Merlin frowned as it began to open slowly, clearly trying to work out who was missing. But as the figure was revealed, Arthur winked at Gwen, mouthing thank you as he did so.

“Mother!”

After everything they had been through, Arthur wasn’t sure he had ever felt as convinced that everything had worked out so perfectly as he did in that moment when he caught sight of Merlin’s face. The warlock hurried over to embrace his mother and Arthur turned away to talk to the others, feeling slightly shy about properly meeting her. But when he received an armful of Merlin only seconds later, a small thank you being whispered in his ear and a hasty kiss following it before Merlin whirled away to response to Gwaine’s frantic beckoning finger, Arthur knew for sure that things were indeed over.

Now they just had to start again.

MMM

The day went better than even Arthur could have imagined. Too much food was consumed, the laughter was free and easy and watching Percival absolutely thrash Gwaine on whatever game they were playing was keeping Arthur more than occupied. He was sitting on the sofa, Merlin practically lying across his lap. Someone had draped a blanket over his legs when Merlin kept dozing off, and right now Arthur was gently caressing his stomach as Merlin whined about eating too much cake. Gaius was asleep in their newly mended arm chair and Hunith was talking quietly with Gwen, the mother sending fond looks over to her son now and again.

“You okay?”

“Mm…” Merlin seemed barely with it as he lay there, but Arthur could feel the thumb lightly brushing over his arm even as his own hand moved in small circles on Merlin’s stomach under the blanket. The commander chuckled fondly at the sleepy response, knowing that Merlin had almost tired himself out in a childlike manner. The excitement of realising that they hadn’t forgotten his birthday coupled with his mother being there had worn him out.

“Arthur?”

“Yes, love?”

“Best birthday ever.” Arthur smiled, leaning down and kissing Merlin’s forehead even as the warlock’s eyes closed again and his breathing evened out. Arthur was glad that he had no plans of moving anywhere as Merlin fell asleep, but instead sat back in a more comfortable position, eyes scanning the room to see what everyone else was doing. Seeing Gwen over with Lancelot, Arthur blinked, hastily looking around for Hunith.

She was just finishing placing a blanket over Gaius’ knees as the old man continued to sleep, but seemed to sense Arthur’s gaze on her. Turning with a smile, she moved over, perching on the arm of the sofa next to Arthur. It seemed as if she was unable to stop herself from bending down and pulling the blanket further up over Merlin.

“No longer a teenager.” She murmured softly, stroking his hair back and causing Merlin to let out a satisfied sigh, snuggling into Arthur as he did so. Both his mother and his lover laughed softly.

“I ought to thank you, Arthur.”

“For what?” Despite his initial nerves at meeting Hunith, Arthur had never felt so quickly welcomed by any in his life. She even seemed to make Gwaine want to be on his best behaviour, and that was saying something.

“You saved his life.”

“I was nearly the one to end it.” Arthur couldn’t take that sort of praise, not considering he was the one who had given the team the order to go after Merlin and to turn his life upside down in the first place. Hunith, however, shook her head.

“It was worth the risk. He had nothing, preparing himself for a life of living in hiding and denying who he was. You didn’t just accept that, you gave him a purpose for his gifts. As someone once told Merlin, you gave him a destiny.”

“He opened my eyes to so much.” Arthur murmured, combing his fingers through Merlin’s hair gently. “I’m not sure who turned the others life around more between the two of us. When I knew it was him that Morgause wanted, I knew that I was going to die there. Nothing would have made me give him up, ever.”

“He knows it as well. He feels the same, that is why you are both here now because neither would give up the other.”

Arthur smiled, grinning down at the sleeping warlock even as he felt a faint blush work its way up his neck at Hunith’s words. He had never known his own mother, but there was no way that his father would ever have been able to make him feel like this.

“Arthur?”

“What’s up, Lance?” Glancing over the back of the sofa where the man was standing, Arthur frowned at the way Lancelot almost seemed to be shifting from foot to foot, not being sure where to look.

“Lancelot?”

“I, um…”

“I’ll give you boys some privacy.” With one final look at Merlin, Hunith sidled back to Gwen. Judging by the way they both glanced over, smiling, Arthur had a feeling that they knew what was going on far more than he did.

“I….”

“For heaven’s sake, Knight 2, will you please speak your mind, that’s an order.”

“Will you be my best man at the wedding?”

For a long moment, Arthur could only blink at him, convinced that he must have misheard. Lancelot blushed deeply at Arthur’s look before a slow smile began to spread over the commander’s face. Merlin shifted against his leg as Arthur turned to face his soldier properly, grinning.

“I would be honoured.”

“It’s just… if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have got together, and I know it’s been hard and now you are with Merlin…”

“Lance. I would be honoured.” Lancelot seemed to finally realise that Arthur was saying yes without even thinking about the events that had led him to be marrying Gwen in the first place and he grinned. Spluttering out thank you’s, he hurried back to Gwen, immediately pulling her into his arms. Gwen caught Arthur’s over her fiancée’s shoulder, smiling at him. Leon looked over and nodded in approval, and Arthur realised that he had been the last one to know. Whether the others had just been talking about it that morning whilst he was distracting Merlin, or whether they had known about it for far longer, Arthur had no idea.

But it was with a satisfied grin that Arthur allowed his head to flop back against the back of the sofa. He had always thought that these men were his family, but sitting here now, watching Elyan steal Gwaine’s last piece of cake and the latter retaliate by throwing a cushion at him, he found himself believing it more than ever. This was precisely where he belonged.

The hours went past, no one being bothered to really move unless it was to get more food. There was no need, for the first time in weeks there was no threat. Gaius had pulled some strings and managed to get Uther to send Aredian off in the other direction, leaving it completely clear for Merlin to live with them without being under watch the whole time. They had cleared up the sorcerers around who were causing problems and everything had settled down. After everything that had happened, why should they have to get up for anyone or anything?

Eventually, through his own half asleep state, Arthur realised that Merlin’s thumb was rubbing small circles on his hip. Glancing down, he saw the warlock’s eyes were still closed and his breathing still even, but there could be no denying that his thumb was moving. There was a lull of noise in the room and Arthur didn’t want to break that. Instead, he rocked his hip slightly into the touch, watching Merlin’s face intently as he did so. Just for a flicker of a moment, there was the smallest smile on Merlin’s face before he pretended to be asleep again. Arthur bit back a grin.

Letting his own hand slide under the blanket, Arthur folded his fingers over Merlin’s, trapping the hand against his hip. Merlin let out a soft giggle, before moving his other hand. This time, Arthur only just held back his gasp, desperately trying not to squirm at what Merlin was doing. He managed to stay still for a few minutes, but as Merlin moved, he snapped.

In one movement, he had jumped to his feet and swung Merlin over his shoulder. Everyone in the room jumped in surprise, but considering the flushed look on Arthur’s face and the way Merlin was shaking with laughter from where he was hanging upside down, they knew better than to ask. Not even stopping to think about the fact that Merlin’s mother was present and Gwaine’s wolf whistle gave away precisely what was going on, Arthur strode into the bedroom.

He somehow managed to drop Merlin on the bed and kick the door shut in one movement before turning to face the warlock with his eyes gleaming. Merlin just wriggled backwards until he was completely sprawled across the bed, raising his eyebrows and looking up at Arthur innocently.

Back in the main part of the room, now the tranquillity had been broken, everyone began to move. Hunith was staying close by so she didn’t have to travel back to Ealdor and Gwen and Lancelot were booked into a hotel for the night as well. Apparently they had wedding business to discuss that they didn’t want to talk about in the flat, but the way Elyan had looked like he had just swallowed a sour lemon when he realised what they really meant had given away their pretence. Gaius was heading back to the barracks, but no one quite had the heart to waken him.

Gwaine stood up, stretching out his legs and shaking them to get the blood flowing again. Hearing Merlin’s high pitch laughter floating through the door, Gwaine grinned.

“You show the princess how it’s done, Merlin.” Gwaine yelled, heading towards the kitchen as he did so.

There was silence for a beat. Then one slightly annoyed voice, even if it sounded somewhat muffled.

_“Don’t call me fucking princess!”_


End file.
